Has someone ever asked you, “What is your grind?” and you weren’t sure what it actually meant? Well, the grind is when you don’t stop working hard for what you want.

One way of reminding myself to keep the grind going is to ask myself these three questions: “What is my grind?”, “Will I ever stop the grind?”, and “What is the guaranteed way not to stop?” Once I answer these questions myself, I want to embrace the grind.

The first question I ask myself is, “What is my grind?” At first I didn’t know what my grind was. I didn’t know what motivated me. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up or what I loved, but there was one thing that I have always loved and love now, something that nothing could make me stop loving. That love and passion is for the sport, football.

I fell in love with football when I was six-years-old, playing soccer with other kids. My brother had recently joined the football team, and he was playing on the field next to me. One of his teammates was having a really good game; everyone was screaming for the kid. I realized that I wanted to be a part of that, I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself, I wanted to be a part of a brotherhood, and that was the moment that brought me to my grind.

The next question I ask myself is, “Will I ever stop the grind?” The answer is no, I will never stop the grind because of a life lesson my dad taught me when I was very young. When I was younger, my fellow classmates always made fun of me for finishing my work before I went outside to play. I would be called a nerd and a dork and a lot of other names. I would get upset and ask my parents why I got made fun of for wanting to finish my work before I went outside. My dad told me that I should do what I wanted to do, not what everybody else told me to do. If I thought that hard work in life would be finishing my work before I had my free time, then I should continue doing that. What my dad told me really hit me: doing what I want to do is very helpful and motivating.

The last question I ask myself is, “What is the guaranteed way to continue the grind?” The way that is helping me is to find a motivation factor to remind myself to keep going. My motivation factor is my grandfather. My grandfather is the hardest working man I know. My grandfather has recently fallen for the second time and is in a lot of pain. My grandfather continues to fight every day through his struggles. My grandfather has been fighting through thick and thin and won’t give up. Finding a motivation factor, like my grandfather is for me, will help you with your grind.

These specific events in my life make me who I am, and I will never stop working for what I want. I will never stop the grind and neither should you. So tell me, what’s your grind?