You might jump the starting line. You might be out in front of me. But I will come around you, I will beat you in the end. Why?

Because I will out work you, I will out sacrifice you. I will have more heart, more discipline, more courage. I am not like you. I am an animal, a beast. I am fierce, I am unrelenting.

When you go for take-out, eat fast food, drink alcohol and soda, buy packaged and processed foods, I will eat and drink clean. I will weigh and portion everything, I will meal prep, I will track every bite of food and every ounce of water.

When you give in to the temptations of unhealthy foods, calling it a treat and telling yourself you are living a balanced life and you deserve it, I will still eat clean. I know that what you call “balance” is just a way to rationalize your weakness in the face of tempting treats. I know true balance isn’t poisoning my body and sabotaging my success.

When you are out with your friends, I will be at the gym working. When you lift light, I will add five pounds, ten pound and lift heavier. When you walk, I will run. When you quit at ten, I won’t quit until fifteen. When you show up three days, I will show up five.

You wanted the easy way. You always looked for the path of least resistance, the quick fix, the magic pill.

I know there is no easy way. This path goes through hell and it leads someplace you’ll never see because you don’t have the strength, the courage, the discipline to walk this path.

You want to blame someone, something. You blame the past, blame hurt, blame trauma, blame your body, blame the world. Maybe those things got you to where you are now, but those things have nothing to do with where you go next. They can’t stop you from changing. Only you hold yourself back.

I don’t hold myself back. I acknowledge my past, learn from it and release it. I accept responsibility for my life, for my choices, my mistakes, my weaknesses. I don’t look to anyone else to right these wrongs for me. I face the consequences of my choices. I stand up to the challenges I’ll face; I stand up to them in the kitchen, at the gym, every day and in everything I do, I make my future, I make my body, I make my success.

Sometimes I slip, sometimes I stumble. But I get up over and over and over again because that is what this takes. I do not give up, I do not give in.

So go ahead and jump that starting line, get a few laps ahead of me, but know that you will not beat me. You cannot beat me because I know you. I know your weaknesses, I know your habits, I know your excuses. I know the work you are willing to put in. I know the results you are expecting to get out. I know the disappointment you’ll feel when you can’t reach your goals, when it all starts slipping through your fingers. I was you. I could still be you now had I stayed that course, had I tried taking the easy way again. But I left you behind. I took the path of most resistance. I took the path of work, of fight, of character, self-mastery, determination and tenacity. I took the path of blood, sweat, tears, blisters, muscle aches and exhaustion. You will not beat me. You cannot beat me.