The Will

The Will

via Chiron by Rory on 8/20/10

I'm cribbing from an unknown author today. Somebody wrote something and I penciled it on a post-it note and it now hangs on the bathroom mirror. I didn't write down who said it, and it deserves a lot of credit.

Everyone has the will to win. When two people show up at a contest, both want to win. Both have their spirits set on prevailing. In the nasty world of predators and victims, the will to win is even more pronounced. The coyote is hungry. The rabbit wants to live.

Everyone has the will to win. When everyone has something, it is meaningless.

What many lack is the will to prepare to win.

It is a disservice to say that the one who wants the win most, the one who is hungriest, has the edge. Wanting isn't enough. When we say that it matters, we say that desire itself has a magical power to shift the world in our favor.

What does shift the world into our favor is preparation, and preparation is an act of will. You train when there is no immediate goal. You study the problem. You learn the factors and the nuances. For the deep and dangerous stuff, you have to know your own heart. Not what you think you can do if and when-- those are fantasies. You need to know your core and where you core starts to shift...and which direction it shifts to... under fear and pain and hunger and ego threat and all of the other different ways that identity shifts.

As broad and deep as you can go, you can increase your chances through preparation.

It's amazing how lucky someone who trains four hours a day can get.

The stick-it on the mirror? It says, "The will to PREPARE to win."

Posted via email from the Un-Official Southwestern PA Re-Entry Coalition Blog