"Do not pray for easy lives..."

"...pray to be stronger men." -John F. Kennedy

Do something hard. Run a mile or three. Climb that mountain that you see every day (Shasta residents). Apologize to someone.

I was talking to a buddy of mine, and he was saying that he wanted to climb Mt. Shasta, but it "looks hard."

Now this guy is a natural athlete, one of those guys that you love to hate, because it would take him two weeks to be better than you at something you've been practicing for years. He could probably climb Shasta after a month or two of training.

But it's the thought of the struggle that holds him back. I don't get it, That should be your motivation to do something-because it looks hard.

I wanted to climb Shasta because it was something that I never thought I could do. It turned out to be one of the toughest things I'd ever done, and when I got back down it wasn't the summit, the views, or the snowboarding back down that I valued the most from my trip. They were all amazing, but it was those three times that I decided to turn back...then kept on going instead that made it unforgettable. Learning that I had more in me when I thought my tank was dry was the best thing about that trip.

You should want to do it to prove that you can, or at least to know that you tried. To learn something about yourself whether you get to the top or circumstances force you to turn around.
Struggle makes you a better person. It refines you, toughens you up. It gives you more confidence for the next challenge.

And be assured there will be a next challenge. Life is a struggle. It can be a fulfilling struggle like a sleepless night with your kid or a draining struggle like having to work with a terrible boss, but you know that something's going to come up.

The more used to adversity you are, the better you'll be equipped for whatever life throws your way. Whether it's a more patient disposition, better coping skills, or just the thought that you've been through worse and survived, it's a matter of fact-the more you've handled, the more you can handle.

In the HBO series "Band of Brothers", there's a scene where a green recruit joins a group of battle-hardened troops into a war zone. As they're standing there, mortar shells are exploding in the distance. The new guy ducks every time something explodes, but the vets don't flinch. They've been there before, and it doesn't faze them. I'd rather be a vet than a rookie. I'm getting too old to flinch every time something blows up.

Try something that you don't think you can do. Do something that scares you a bit. Or a lot. Find your limits, them make new ones.

Even if you don't succeed, you'll learn something about yourself, and there's no way you can call that a failure.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad