This morning, I got up on time. No drama. No mental war. Just out of bed and into the day. Walked into the gym ready to run my small group PT. Had a solid session with one of the lads after that. Felt sharp. Less fog than yesterday. For the first time this week, I felt like today was going to be a good one. I didn’t train hard. Just cycled in, walked back, went for a second walk later. Finished the night with an ice bath. It’s not always about the grind — sometimes, it’s about keeping momentum alive. But the challenge? Still there. Sat in silence for a bit today. No podcast. No journaling. No distractions. Just me and the growing awareness that this is harder than I thought. It’s not the physical stuff. It’s the mental commitment. Every hour, a new opportunity to flinch. I dug deeper into frontal lobe function. Learned more about possible tools like methylene blue and cerebromiosine to support cognition. This part matters. Because this challenge isn’t about willpower. It’s about wiring. And I’m trying to upgrade mine. Work-wise, I finally tackled a few systems that have been dragging behind me for weeks. Old processes I’ve avoided cleaning up. Got them done. But the messages? Still stuck. That 3pm deadline I set yesterday… I didn’t hit it. Pushed it out. Again. Resistance showed up today in clever forms. Helping others with their business problems. Fixing little jobs around the house. Feels productive. But it’s not the work. And then the useless distractions slip in. Scrolling. Dopamine. Loops. I know better. Still did it. But one thing landed clearly today. The big stuff always shrinks when it’s done early. If there’s a frog to eat, I’d rather eat it cold at 7am than let it glare at me till 5. And if I’ve got a jar to fill, I’m putting the big rocks in first. Every time I wait, the jar fills with sand. Tomorrow is my longest day of the week. From 8 in the morning until 6 in the evening, I’ll be in the gym. Coaching. Supervising. Moving. Standing. But somewhere around 11 or 12, I get an hour.

This morning, something small happened. Something most people wouldn’t think twice about. But I noticed. Because I made a promise. The plan was simple. Up at 5. Journal. Ice bath. Start strong. Set the tone like a man on a mission. But when the alarm went off… I didn’t move. And in that quiet moment, everything shifted. I heard it. That little voice. “You’re tired. You need more sleep.” “Stay in bed. Ana’s here. You’ve got time.” So I stayed. And with that one decision, the first agreement I made with myself was already broken. Most people would brush it off. I couldn’t. Because I know how these patterns play out. Eventually, I got up. Jumped on the bike for 4km. Got my steps in. Eleven thousand, to be exact. Did my mobility work. Kept the body moving. But my mind wasn’t done with me yet. So I tuned in to a podcast on neuroscience. Focused on executive function. Specifically, the frontal lobe. The part of the brain that’s supposed to help you stay on track. Mine’s been in a cycle of burnout. And now I know why. Turns out, it’s not about doing more. It’s about doing smarter. Strategic reset windows. Movement. Meditation. Controlled stimulation. If I want to repair what’s been slipping, I need to respect the machine. Work-wise, I held the line. Finished every Holistic Horizons task I promised. Built the resources. Followed up the leads. Clean and complete. BetterMan? That’s where the pattern showed up again. I didn’t avoid it completely. But I planned instead of executed. Created the structure for tomorrow. Mapped the time blocks. Felt productive. But it wasn’t action. It was prep disguised as progress. I know the difference. And I’m calling it out. Messaging front? Cleared most of it. Ninety percent done. But three important people are still waiting. They deserve more than a rushed reply. They get proper responses by 3pm tomorrow. No excuses. Today reminded me of something brutal but true. Saying “I’m doing a challenge” doesn’t mean anything. It’s not a spell.