☕ Coffee with Grim
Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons… if we’re paying attention.
The gym has become my place of quiet reflection.
Some people find peace beside a lake or while walking through the woods. I seem to find mine somewhere between sore muscles, heavy weights, and a treadmill that always feels just a little too fast.
The other day, though, I wasn’t feeling it.
My workout was flat. My legs were burning, my motivation had packed up and gone home, and I was already thinking about the locker room before I’d finished what I came to do.
As I started putting my weights away, an older gentleman—he had to be in his late eighties or early nineties—looked over, smiled, and asked,
“Giving up already?”
I laughed.
“My legs hurt.”
He chuckled as he slowly walked between the machines. As he passed, he rested his hand on my shoulder and quietly said,
“The pain isn’t the enemy. The excuse is.”
Then he smiled and continued his workout.
I stood there for a moment, letting those words settle in.
At first, I thought he was talking about sore muscles.
By the end of the day, I realized he was talking about life.
How many times have I made an excuse instead of making progress?
How many opportunities have I postponed because the work felt too hard?
How many conversations have I avoided because they were uncomfortable?
Growth almost always comes with discomfort. Whether we’re rebuilding our lives after trauma, repairing a relationship, chasing a dream, or simply becoming healthier, there will be moments when quitting feels easier than continuing.
Pain is often the price of growth.
Excuses are the price of staying the same.
That gentleman probably forgot our conversation before he left the gym.
I haven’t.
Sometimes the greatest lessons don’t come from a book, a classroom, or a motivational speaker.
Sometimes they come from a stranger who says exactly what we need to hear at exactly the right moment.
So, before I finish this cup of coffee, let me leave you with one question.
What’s one excuse you’ve been holding onto that’s keeping you from becoming the person you want to be?
Until next time… keep paying attention.
— Grim
What are your throughts?