Fatigue is an enemy - updated 6:35am

"Fatigue makes cowards of us all."

It took four days to get there but I finally realized I've been sick.

I figured something was wrong when I started falling asleep in the middle of the morning, then again around 3:30 ,even though I was dragging myself to bed by 9pm and sleeping for 8 hours.

The symptoms, accompanied by some "gastric distress," kept up for days but I blamed dehydration, the heat, my own cooking, anything other than accept my strength had ebbed to dangerously low levels ... leaving me with only the strength of four men (when I'm used to having the Strength of Ten).

Probably just a low-grade virus and today I'm feeling much improved. But here's the dig:

I was too tired to read, too tired to work, too tired to watch TV or log onto the computer ... and by the end of a day doing nothing but sitting still I was literally too tired to walk to the back of the boat and lie down.

"It is not whether you get knocked down. It's whether you get up."

Man, your mind can wander around, and maybe even start doubting, your life's priorities when you're too tired to even turn off the TV.

"Dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price."

You start wondering what life would be like if your bleak outlook was permanent, instead of something temporary brought on by a tiny virus.

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."

Fatigue can turn tiny inconveniences and annoyances into what feels like overwhelming burdens. "I'm too tired," "I'm not excited any more," "I've already done my part," "I'm not sure that's really important" and "What are you telling me for?" are all symptoms.

We might even feel too fatigued to notice it's happening.

"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."

So long as we're feeling good and the dice are rolling our way we feel capable of facing and handling impossible challenges.

"Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing- the result."

But what happens if we start getting feeling fatigued and tired along the way? What happens when we feel like quitting?

"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit."

We won't be defeated by obstacles or adversaries; we'll be defeated when we accept I Feel Tired as an excuse, and lose track of the most irreplaceable, precious thing we've got: time.

"We didn't lose the game. We just ran out of time."

If that's what we allow to happen, and let fatigue distract us or "modify" our goals toward what's easy, convenient and certain.

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection then we can catch excellence."

And isn't that worth working for?

-all quotes from Vince Lombardi, professional football coach