1. slogging present participle of slog (Verb)
1. Work hard over a period of time.
2. Walk or move with difficulty or effort.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
There’s a brief, brutal sentiment that is often-repeated: life is short, and then you die. Well, yes, in sum, that is true! But in the meantime, there are many other things we want to accomplish, or must accomplish. Some of them are small, like purchasing groceries for the weekend. Mostly, we do the little ones without too much thought. Others are more intermediate, and require a little more planning. Some are downright gargantuan. It’s the big ones that tend to overwhelm us — tasks such as:
• Getting through high school, college, or an advanced degree.
• Becoming pregnant – then actually giving birth, and taking care of that child for 18+ years.
• Marrying, or engaging in any sort of long-term relationship.
• Surviving cancer treatment, or the death of someone close.
• Having PCOS, or some other chronic illness.
We get overwhelmed because we have a vision of the end – the baby, the job, the spouse, the degree, the skinny body, or merely being alive – but we have no idea how we will get there. Oh, maybe some vague idea, like yes, I’ll go back to school and learn Spanish and then I can get a better job (doing what again? Oh, details!). Somehow, all of our inner resources go flying out the window, and we think:
• It’s too hard.
• It will take too long.
• I don’t have the money.
• Everyone knows there’s a 50% divorce rate in this country.
• People will laugh at me.
• This isn’t something you can cure.
• I’m not smart enough.
And here’s where the “Art of Slogging” comes in. Slogging is hard work, patient attention, struggling, pausing, gathering up more energy, and going at it again and again, until you get IT, whatever IT is. I’ve had clients who went to six different junior colleges in three states over five years pull it together to get a local college to grant them an A.A. degree. That’s slogging. You might lose 12 pounds over the course of a year – a pound a month – because you went to the gym religiously twice a week, even though you didn’t think you were really seeing results. That’s slogging. Or you have no idea how you’ll respond to full-scale PCOS treatment, but you go to the endocrinologist, and the dietician, and the psychologist, and somehow, after some time and concentrated effort, and following instructions, you “suddenly” feel better. That’s slogging.
Slogging is the process of showing up for life, having some faith, a glimpse of hope, and the willingness to engage in a great deal of effort on an ongoing basis. It’s believing that your goals are worthy, you’re worthy, and you CAN do it. Slogging is life, basically. We get the gift of significant insights or progress at times to motivate us, but it’s still all about the slogging.
I believe you’re capable of virtually anything; what do you believe?
Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.
If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.