Writing is hard sometimes.

But, I commit to doing it.

The same with hockey.

Some days we don’t want to show up, but the people that continually show up are the ones who will be left standing at the end and make it the farthest. I'm a big believer in that.

A few days ago, I literally sat at my computer for two and a half hours trying to write the “perfect” blog post. I started 4 new articles... stopped on all of them. 

Then, I finally wrote and finished an article and decided to call it a night. While I was brushing my teeth I started to think about how just showing up, or in my case sitting down to write, was often the hardest battle. 

Most days, just showing up is over half the battle. There’s always a reason why you shouldn’t do something...excuses are easy. But showing up everyday is hard, but so worth it. 

It's amazing how you can find a correlation between hockey and so many other things. 

For me, I truly love writing this blog, but that doesn't mean that it's always easy. 

The same is true with hockey. I love the game, but that still doesn't mean that there are days when it's tough to get to the rink. 

I talk a lot about opportunity on this blog. That you always need to be ready to seize the next opportunity that comes your way. Often times, it's on the days when we are questioning everything that the biggest break through might happen. 

This post is the perfect example. 

Almost three hours in front of a computer trying to write an article and I felt like everything that came out sucked and that I had just wasted a lot of time. But, because I showed up and committed to my process of trying to write everyday, a different opportunity ended up presenting itself. 

Instead of writing a post from my computer, I stood in my bathroom in the dark and started to write this post on my phone. Then when I tried to actually go to sleep my 5 month old son decided to start waking up. So while I was giving him a few minutes to decide if he was going to wake up or not, I went out in the other room and sat on the couch and continued to write this blog on my phone. 

What I couldn't accomplish in nearly three hours at a computer, ended up coming together in the middle of the night, in the dark, and on my iPhone. 

It's not at all how I intended it to happen, but, because I showed up a break through occurred. A new opportunity presented itself. 

All I keep thinking about is how this relates so much to hockey. Those days when you don't feel like training, or you don't want to get up early to do that extra skate, or you feel like you need a day off from practice... those are the days when you grow the most. Those are the days when your character really starts to get formed and developed. 

Obviously, there are a lot of things that go into being successful. Many of which I talk about on here, but in order for you to have the chance to work hard, be a great teammate, be coachable, and get better... you have to show up. 

So on those tough days when things don't seem to be going the way you want, or those excuses that start popping into your head start to gain traction, take a step back and remember why you started and 'show up'. 

Show up to the rink with an open mind and an understanding that not every day is going to be perfect. But remember, the players that can be the most consistent and learn to embrace the grind of those tough days are usually the ones left standing at the end. 

So if you take one thing from this today it's that every day you show up is a new opportunity. And that one opportunity to could end up being the one thing that changes it all.