The Joy of Elbow Grease

Putting our heart into it isn’t enough.

That’s merely the price of admission.

To keep the momentum going, to keep the resistance away and
to keep the goal in sight, we have to put our back into it. Real, physical
exertion. Sweat equity. Elbow grease. Getting up earlier than we need, staying
up later than we want, and aching every moment in between.

That’s what life requires of us.

Without it, we’re just watching from the sidelines.

It’s the ugliest part of any endeavor, but it’s also the
most transformational. Something about the movement of our bodies, the calories
we expend and the physical price we pay changes us. Like a yogi stretching her
body in unexplored directions, our exertions create new muscle memory. We come
out on the other side better than we were before. And if we’re lucky enough to
share this experience with someone we love, the intimacy between us deepens,
and our relationship is never the same again.