Where did the METTLE go?

Met⋅tle 

–noun

1.	courage and fortitude: a man of mettle.

2.	disposition or temperament: a man of fine mettle.

—Idiom

3.	on one's mettle, in the position of being incited to do one's best The loss of the first round put him on his mettle to win the match.

Synonyms: valor, pluck, vigor, ardor, nerve, fiber.

Aside from being one of my favorite words, it is also strong and having this can allow you to make massive changes in your life. But it has become lost in many lives. I see it all too often. The unwillingness to put in the time, the work, the effort. We are in the times of 'ready for you...". Ready for you meals, Home makeovers in under an hour, and all sorts of stuff similar. Success does not happen this way.

As a coach, I wouldn't have my quarterbacks practicing hail marry passes everyday or every week for that matter cause he might not ever get to throw one in his whole career. I will have them practicing the fundamentals everyday. Working handoffs, short outs and drags, things that he's going to have to perform every game. Doug Fluttie may be remembered forever for a hail mary but the rest of us are going to get it done one exercise, one lift, one practice, one play at a time. That is how it's done, and you're going no where without some mettle.

Whether you're losing fat, building strength, getting ripped, or having the life you dreamed of it's gonna take work and grunt work. That means mettle.

With all the promises you see all over the media it's no wonder we're in the mess that we are. Everyone wants the 30 days to lose 200lbs. Well what if that diet also makes sure that in the next 30 days you'll put it all back on again. Or, the vertimax, nautilus, hammer strength machines that are supposed to make you a better than ever athlete. I'll tell you the truth; most of this stuff isn't worth a penny. Those salesmen would have to pay me alot and I mean a shitload of money to use their stuff, and even then I'd sneak off to get an actual workout in.

Nothing is going to take a short time. Losing 200 lbs is going to probably take close to 2 years, and it's one workout, one meal, one pain stacking pound at a time. But once you get there you've created a lifestyle that you can continue to maintain and it'll lead to a much happier life.

It takes years to develop as an athlete. Tons of lifts, and running, practices and competitions, and many of them on days when you'd rather not do anything at all or when your body is just not doing as you'd like.

Wrestling may be the best example I can think of. There is no shortcut to victory, or success. Everything is earned. There is one wrestle off, then one match at a time, and one meet at a time. Emotionally and physically this is the hardest sport on the planet. (moral of this part. Don't mess with a wrestler, no matter what size they are.)

All those 6 am lifts and practices are going to prepare you for much more than your sports. They're preparing you for life. If there's one thing I can get across to an athlete it is to give him/her the greatest challenge there is....To do the absolute best that they can possibly do each and every time.

It's gonna be hard, it's supposed to be hard.

Get your mettle. Build it, make it as strong as your body. Because without that everything else will not matter. A strong body with a weak mind will crumble every time.

Test your METTLE!!!

References:

http://dictionary.reference.com/audio.html/lunaWAV/M03/M0376100" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/speaker.gif