“Rest at the end” -Kobe Bryant
While iconic, the title is admittedly not the full quote. “Rest at the end, not in the middle.” These words have stuck with me permanently from the moment I first heard them. They have guided me through adversity, heartbreak, and all other types of struggle. They have always felt to me less of a quote and more of a warning. Not a warning against sleep or recovery, but a warning about what happens if you sell yourself short.
Simply put, keep going. No matter what. Don’t stop. Nobody is stopping you. Period. Even when it hurts. When it’s hard. When it seems like you couldn’t possibly… you can.
Being tired is never an excuse to stop going. Anything in life worth our effort deserves to be fought for. Things that bring us joy, happiness, love, comfort, confidence, and peace of mind all must be fought for and protected. Constantly.
It may sound exhausting, because it is. That’s life. Maybe because of this haunting reality, we so often forget or overlook the power of our spirit as humans. Something in our brain gives us the will to choose to get things done, and that differentiates us from basically every other species on Earth. Those collective choices through time have caused humans to go from fighting each other with sticks and stones to dancing with each other on the internet.
A goal is simply a dream with a deadline, and we should dream absolutely, outrageously big. This is open encouragement to chase even the craziest of your dreams. However, the crazier the dream the more work to wrangle it into reality. The bigger the dream, the bigger the journey. With an honest perception, we can view our big goal and see the steps of the journey before us.
Aligning smaller, more manageable stepping stones before us on our path to our dream paves the way. As we begin walking, our steps build confidence. Our steps build momentum. If we maintain conviction, our feet will remain walking free of distraction, and the steps on your ultimate journey are surrounded by all means of distraction. It keeps us wary of celebrating the small victories too largely, or allowing the small losses to hurt us too deeply. We know that no matter what our next step is progress. Even if it comes after a big stumble. Conviction lifts our chin, swells our chest, fills our lungs, and gives us the power to take that next step.
By focusing on taking the next smaller step in front of us we can build the habits that will allow us to continue our journey. This, to me, is what “Rest at the End” is all about. It isn’t about relentlessly and mindlessly destroying yourself until the mission is accomplished. It is taking the necessary steps to make sure you are ready and available for the duration of your journey, and to remember to always take the next step.
