#grind date

Posdnuos (De La Soul) - Grind Date

... and that's the real. But I do do business with people that I have sex with.

A couple weeks ago I started a series to deal with the stress of the grind that we’re all going through right now. You know, the stress of goals, frustrations, hopes, dreams, and our reality all coming together? That stress takes its toll on each of us as we strive to make progress toward where we believe we’re destined to go, and it’s about this time of the year that even the most dedicated of us start to lose balance or contemplate throwing in the towel. This is what I was talking about in the first GRIND DATE, and I’m going to continue on this for a few weeks before I move on to my next idea. If we’re going to push through this phase, then the first thing that will empower you is to RECOGNIZE that you’re here. You need to know where you are. Everything in life is based on a process, and the progress you’re seeking to make is just another process. There’s no magic corridor or teleporter that’s going to magically take us to our point of victory, no matter how nice that might be. With that in mind, the first step in dealing with your grind date is accepting the fact that a) it exists and b) you will have to deal with it. There are some easy signs to look out for that will help you understand that you’ve hit your grind date, so let’s just list a few of them: 1) Your routine suffers. Things that you were consistently doing start becoming “when I get a chance” phenomena. Many important things can fit this category; you can find yourself skipping meals, not sleeping enough, missing days reading your Word, or failing to knock things off your to-do list. 2) You’re not so nice. Things just are getting on your nerves more easily than normal. The cute things your wife or child normally do...you know, those things you used to laugh at? Now, you find yourself either not having time for them, or you begin to display annoyance with them. Some of the first people to notice that you’re going through a grind will be those who love you whom, all of a sudden, aren’t seeing the nice guy/gal that you usually are. And for the sake of time, we’ll end on this one... 3) Unhealthy compromise. You were so optimistic when you started this journey. You were going to walk hand-in-hand with God in all your situations, but you’ve started to lower those lofty expectations. The stress has you wanting to smoke even though you said you quit: you’re considering calling that person who you know is just a distraction, and you’ve made it okay in your own mind. When you start reasoning with yourself why you should be allowed to go back to the thing you left, then you’re in the grinder. There are other ways to know that you’re in the grind, but for now, that will have to do. Knowledge is power, and denial is the devil. If we’re going to get the monkey off our backs so we can run our best race, the first thing we have to do is recognize we’ve hit our grind date. SpitLIFE

It's that time of the year; Spring is around the corner, and every time I have a conversation like about the seasons, we say the same thing. "Man, this year is flying by!" It's already March? Yes, we're approaching the end of the first quarter, the first season, and for many of us, we're approaching the first major marker of the year. I know for me, at the end of each quarter of a year, I like to assess where I am, what I've done, and what I'm trying to acccomplish this year so I can grade myself and plan for the next phase. And, maybe it's been easy for you to achieve the goals you set out for yourself, but I know that most of us have had some ups and downs along the way, and are fighting to master consistency and productivity. I know one thing that none of us should be doing though, and that is 'giving up'. Maybe you could readjust some of your goals for the year, but there is no 'surrender' in me, and there is no 'throw in the towel' in you. It's the grind date. This is the time after you've sprinted or stumbled out of the gate, and you recognize there's a long way to go to the finish and that you don't have that initial burst of energy or enthusiasm anymore. It's a grind now. I feel it; you feel it. There's no denying it, because it is definitely there. So what do we do about it? That's a great question, and I'm glad you asked, because I'm going to spend the next few Fridays sharing some necessary tools to making it through your grind dates and your hard times. God has a harvest out there for you this year, and you have begun the good work. Thas's an awesome thing, but you'd have been better off not starting on this particular journey rather than starting and giving up. That giving up will be something that defeats you and keeps you from challenging yourself in the future, thus shortchanging the divine potential you realize when you walk out your faith. God's not giving up on you, I'm not giving up on you, and you're not allowed to give up on you. So, check me out on the next few Fridays, because our weekend reading is going to address thriving in the grind. SPITLIFE

De La Soul ft Butta Verses - You Got It

The Grind Date (2004)

Favorite post-2000 De La song. Good to be blogging again.

de la soul rock co kane flow