Push Days and the Edges of Growth

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” – Marcus Aurelius

This morning I stood on the edge.

Athlete standing at the edge of growth.

Not a metaphorical edge, though maybe it is, but a very real one at 5:00 a.m. when my alarm went off and everything in me wanted to stay in bed. I was tired. Foggy. Sore. The battle started early.

I ran my rhythm anyway: water, supplements, a page of journaling. As dawn crept across the sky, I checked my WHOOP data expecting an excuse. Maybe, low recovery or poor sleep, a reason to take it easy this morning.

Instead, I got a green light: 96% sleep. 95% recovery. My body was ready.

But my mind? It wanted an out. That’s the first edge: when your body is willing but your spirit makes excuses. Or vice versa. That’s the joint we rotate around every day. And choice lives there.

So I chose to build a hard workout. EMOM format. Five rounds of work across seven stations. By round three, the wheels started coming off. I couldn’t hit the rep goals. My breath was gone. Muscles failing. My heart was beating out of my chest.

That’s the second edge. The physical one.

Where the question is no longer “Can I?” but “Will I?”

Will I keep moving when success isn’t guaranteed?

Will I hold the line when the bar feels heavier than it did a round ago?

I didn’t win every minute. But I also didn't back down from it.

And now I’m left with a bigger question:

Where else in life am I choosing comfort over growth?

Where am I ignoring the data (relationships, habits, signs) and listening to the weaker voice that says “pull back”?

Growth hides behind decision.

It’s always at the edge.

And that edge will show up today in a conversation, in a workout, in your silence, in your calendar.

Are you willing to meet it?

More importantly

are you willing to choose something better when you get there?