I began my morning with a 7 o'clock date with the gym doing fasted cardio. I've actually had several 7:00 a.m. dates over the past month. Some at the gym with the treadmill or elliptical and others in my living room with Shaun T teaching me the importance of tilting, tucking and tightening.

I grew tired of the little-to-no results I've been yielding on my most recent fitness journey; and I learned that in order to accomplish what you never have, you must do things you've never done.

So here I was, becoming the morning person I vowed I'd never be and waking up earlier than I had to, to work out. I even had the audacity to head back to the gym after work to torture myself some more. I was dedicated to progress and I was tired of being stagnant. If I had to shake my body up a little more, then I was willing to do it!

It's all part of the process, I tell myself. Making myself uncomfortable. Trial, error and evaluation. It's about setting new goals and trying new things to get there. It's about shaking up my stagnancy enough to explode into success. It's about me finally acknowledging that I've been average long enough.

I was tired of settling for what was acceptable to others. Tired of living to their standards and not my own. Tired of talking myself out of my obsession to be better - listening to the voices around me telling me I'm fine where I am. Perhaps I was fine enough for the world, but to me, I wanted more. There's nothing wrong with wanting more. 

My body is only one example of this recurring theme in my life. The one where I overwhelm myself to achieve better but those around me tell me I'm in a great space. The one where I'm unhappy where I am, but those around me try to convince me I should be. 

"It's all part of the process", I continue to say. As I pry myself out of bed each morning. Not just for fitness, but for life. For this new job and these freelance opportunities; for this relationship I'm struggling to build; for DEAR QUEENS, for this book; and for everything else I'm working toward this year. I force myself out of bed and walk into uncomfortable situations because average is not where I belong. 'Regular' has never been an adjective that could be tacked on to the end of my name, and I'll be d*mned if it becomes one now. 

"It's all part of the process", I repeat to myself. It's about stepping out of your comfort zone to break through the doors of mediocrity. It's about taking it up a notch to be better. It's about embracing those moments of discomfort and acknowledging that the couch with the rocks underneath the cushions won't be occupied for much longer. Because discomfort breeds growth. It forces you up off the couch, out of the bed and away from what you've grown so complacent in. It stretches you. It builds you. 

You've been average long enough. You've been scuffling with the same routine long enough. You've been uncertain, underwhelmed and unhappy, long enough. It's time to wake up - at 5:30 a.m., 7:00 a.m, or 3:00 p.m - and get what you so rightfully deserve. It's time to put on and show out, leaving all things 'regular' behind, to grasp on to the extraordinary you have waiting.