The Second Lap

Here’s something that happened to me at the track in high school, running laps for gym class. The first lap was adrenaline and novelty. The second lap was the truth. By the second lap, all the enthusiasm had burned off and what was left was just: how much do you actually want to keep going?

Tuesday is the second lap of the week, every week. The novelty of Monday is gone. You’re still not close enough to Friday to feel the pull of the finish. It’s just the middle distance. Just effort, without the benefit of excitement or relief.

The second lap is where you find out what you’re actually made of. Not in a dramatic, movie-training-montage way — in the quiet, ordinary way of just continuing. Just doing the next thing because the next thing needs doing.

Carry on. The second lap always ends eventually. And the person who ran it well runs the rest better.

The second lap is where you find out what you’re actually made of.

What’s one commitment from yesterday that you can follow through on today?