I miss conditioning week.

It was always the toughest part of the football season. And honestly, it was probably the worst part of the season. But I miss it.

Conditioning week was the first week of every season. Practices were held on the track, and our coaches were always dead set on getting us in shape. And testing how mentally tough we were.

It was grueling.

After conditioning week during my sophomore year of high school, I remember a conversation I had with my friend’s brother. He was a senior, so he had just finished his last conditioning week. And I remember thinking how lucky I thought he was. This was the last time he ever had to deal with this level of pain and torture. Now he was free.

I wished I was a senior so I would be done.

Looking back on it, how stupid was I?

I was living the life. I was healthy, I was the captain of our team, and I was playing a sport that I loved. But this little bit of discomfort was enough to get me thinking about how I wanted it all to be over.

I would love the opportunity to go back and go through another conditioning week if it meant I got to play more high school football. I’d probably go through an entire conditioning month, or even a year right now for that opportunity.

But in that moment, I got so caught up in the little negative things, that I was actually looking forward to the end.

 

This is a phenomenon that I’ve noticed in other areas of my life too, not just sports. In college, I used to catch myself thinking about how badly I wanted to just get through a tough week so I could be done with my exams. But as soon as that week finished, there was always another exam to study for, or a paper to write. There were always more challenges on the horizon.

Until there wasn’t.

Graduation finally came. And with it, went all of the exams, and all of the grueling papers.

And also all of the things that made college so great – the football games, the intramural sports, the late nights hanging out in my house with my best friends, the freedom of living care-free in a city with a bunch of kids my age.

But that was what I wanted, right? That’s what I had been wishing for.

 

In the moment, it’s so easy to get caught up in the challenges that you’re facing, or the aspects of your life that aren’t perfect. Maybe you’re having some tough times at home. Maybe you’re sick of all of the homework and tests that come with school. But we have to try to remember to enjoy right now. Enjoy today. Enjoy this week. Enjoy this year.

Because soon it will be gone. And with it, will go all of the great things that you might be taking for granted.

There’s no guarantee that tomorrow will be any better than right now. So enjoy.

-Brandon