The summer of 2023 was an odd yet important one for me. It was the first summer after my first year of college so hanging out with my friends pretty much every day took me back to when I was a teenager. However, even though I was working pretty much every day as a lifeguard at my beach twelve minutes away. I was still lacking discipline in the gym, my diet, and my work ethic. 

I have always been into fitness since high school and took an even bigger turn when I finished my first year of college after I had one of my best friends show me the ropes. However, when I left college that first month home in the summer, I wasn’t taking the correct steps. 

I always saw this fitness and mental challenge called 75 Hard. This challenge has basically five rules. You have to complete two forty-five workouts, one inside and the other out. Pick a diet and stay true to it meaning no cheat meals. Then read ten pages of a self-help or educational book, drink a gallon of water, and take a progress picture. Sounds simple right? Well, I thought so and then continued to be humbled every day.

My best friend Colin, who was also looking to make a change, and I decided to take on this challenge. From July 24, 2023 to Oct. 6, 2023 I followed these five daily tasks every single day. I was humbled, beat up, and left in shock after the first three weeks. 

However, this is where it taught me the importance of discipline. I woke up on day 48 not wanting to do the daily tasks and let my body rest. However, I made a commitment, a promise to myself to try and become the best version of myself. So, I would get off my butt, go to the gym, eat a nutritious meal, put on my running shoes, and then keep on checking off my list. 

There were great days and bad days during my experience throughout this challenge. However, the discipline I gained from it was unimaginable. I have carried these lessons I gained with me ever since I finished those seventy-five days. 

A fun fact I learned was that Oct. 6 is my birthday, meaning the last day would end on my birthday. I swear this wasn’t planned at all. However, I wanted to end it with a bang. So, since the date was the sixth, I attempted to run six miles. I have never been more humbled in my life. All of that confidence I was feeling going into the run faded away quickly at 3.5 miles in. 

I hit an all-time low when I tripped on the trail I was running on, cutting up my knees and hands. It was right then and there I thought about quitting the run. I looked around and that’s when I realized something. It was 6:50 a.m., I was the only one in sight, doing something I never thought I could. So, I got up and wiped the dirt off my knees and hands to begin to run. 

Without this discipline I gained throughout my seventy-five hard journey, old me would have called it quits on the run. I would’ve just walked back to my apartment and showered, then acted like nothing had happened. Completing that six-mile run I was overwhelmed by a wave of satisfaction as I realized I could do something or anything if I just put my mind to it. 

Whenever I feel like not doing something or the lazy thoughts come in. The discipline sets back in and I snap out of it. If I had to choose between discipline or motivation. I am taking discipline over motivation six days a week twice on Sunday.