Grit your teeth and get on with it

Without wanting to go into too much detail, I've spent the last week living in a field sleeping with a rifle and receiving early morning beastings from bootneck Sergeant's who like nothing more than to see arrogant Officer Cadets suffering pain.  Now don't worry, this isn't going to be a post about how hard life in the military is and how tough I've subsequently become.  Partly because I haven't (you know full well I 'm already rock hard), but mainly because I'm just using this experience as an example to make a point.

Now, imagine the scenario.  You've had what supposedly counts as a night's sleep in your bivvy (shelter people, keep up!), using your webbing as your pillow (which is actuyally comfier than it sounds), and now its 04:30 and you have an angry man shouting at you to get up or he's going to shove your head so far up your arse you could wear yourself as a hat.  You then stand perfectly still in ranks with your rifle above your head for 10 minutes, before squating with it for a further 10, before power lifting full bergens and finally sprinting/leopard crawling the length of a football pitch for 40 minutes.  And you're doing all this on 3 hours sleep with no breakfast.

You then have 30 mins to cook your breakfast and use the hot water left over to give yourself a full body wash and shave, before spending the next 8 hours marching around the college in full combat gear (webbing, rifles, and bergens) carrying a selection of staves and heavy ropes.  Sounds like fun?  That's the thing, it actually is, and you and your team are never late for a single task you have to perform, not matter how tired, or wet (because you've been a moron and fallen in the waterr tank) or hungry you are.  The point I'm driving at hear is that, if you think you are operating at the very limit of your endurance/running on fumes, the chances are that you are actually still perfectly capable of performing to a high standard.

This is not just the case in the military, it is the case in life in general.  Winston Churchil once said "If you are going through hell, keep going".  It is absolutely true.  You will be amazed at what you can actually achieve once you feel like you have nothing more to give.  In an office job, chances are you will get those reports in on time no matter how many of them there are, the principle is the same.  Power through, and you'll be just fine.