the beast

Recovery is not just a seemingly endless slog of pushing until finally you break through. As you go, you begin to feel a pull in the direction of the end. 

Or you could think of it like the old analogy of 2 dogs. Which dog will win? The one you feed. But there's a balance of power, and once you reach that tipping point, victory for whichever dog you're feeding is assured because, not only is that dog getting stronger, the other dog is getting weaker. It's not a fight between equals.