Many things in life are hard. Often the contemplation of them is the hardest part.
Little trick I learned in the Army -
No matter how long the march, the run, the days in the field, all I had to do was take that next step, make it through the next five minutes.
If I looked at the miles and hours remaining, I was daunted, overwhelmed, but, damn right I could do one more minute, another few steps, make it to that tree.
That was my task at hand.
Not the miles, not the days, but the inches, feet, minutes... get to that dead tree, that's all I had to do, and then I could figure out where to go from there. Set another goal... a few feet, a few minutes, a few steps farther down the trail.
Seventy-eight years old, still walking (running occasionally), and still sometimes feeling daunted by the whole trek... but, I CAN do a few more feet, another minute, maybe five minutes. THAT, I can do.
No sweat, Sarge. I've got this.
Waiting for some idiot to yell out, "More PT, sergeant!!!"
Oh, wait! I became the sergeant.
Donovan Baldwin
I learned this too and it's helped me all my life. Amazing to see you put this into words.