Every time you take a mis-step, you dull your blade. And a dull blade becomes increasingly hard to sharpen.

Getting up before the sun this morning will be the hardest thing I do all day.

When I was twelve, a teacher shared a story I've never forgotten. At the time, I was likely misbehaving, perhaps for the second or third time. He pulled me aside and said:

"Every time you take a mis-step, you dull your blade. And a dull blade becomes increasingly hard to sharpen."

That lesson stayed with me. Today, as I dragged myself out of bed after a break from early morning runs, his words came rushing back. Getting back into the rhythm is harder than I expected, the blade's gotten dull.

I'm rereading Atomic Habits by James Clear, and I'm struck by how he captures the same truth my teacher taught me all those years ago:

"Momentum goes both ways. Don't move, feel sluggish. Start moving, feel like moving a little more."

That's it, really. Every misstep dulls the blade. Every skipped run makes the next one harder. But every single morning I show up, even when it's brutally difficult - I'm sharpening it again.

Have a great Friday.