Too... (Challenge Day 3)

Something I battle with daily is talking negatively about myself. This negative talk usually shows up in the form of I am too and fill in the blank.

When I was younger it was mostly I'm too fat or too slow. I realized later on, that I wasn't too anything, just really scared of trying.

That fact doesn't stop me from sometimes using that phrase to make excuses for myself. I never started college cause I thought myself to be too dumb... again I feared trying.

My fear of trying has really been a fear of failing. Recently I've been trying to change that.

I completely and utterly failed Calculus 2 a few terms ago! I knew quickly that I would not pass this class, but maybe if I stuck with it I might learn something.

So I didn't drop the course instead took notes, bombed tests and asked questions. After the term I got a letter from the school, warning I could be expelled if I failed again. That letter crushed me, again I felt I was too old and too dumb for school.

Then I took a chance and enrolled for Calc 2 again, this time I got a C! By far the most proud of any grade I have ever gotten.

My point is you are not your preconceived notions of yourself, there isn't a picture  of you in a dictionary with a clear cut definition! You are an infinite amount of possibilities and anything is possible even in the face of adversity. So don't be afraid to be too great! 

Up-Lifting (Challenge Day 2)

A thing I realized right before I enlisted was a need to help people. I truly believe that the way to build strengthen the heart, the greatest exercise you can perform is lifting others up. After my deployments I was left with this unsatisfiable need to serve and help others, something I missed from my deployments. That need was met by becoming a coach in Crossfit.
 

One of the things I am grateful for is the opportunity to coach extraordinary everyday people on how to move their body. I think to myself when I meet a brand new athlete, who has never really challenged themselves is "you have no idea how great you truly are!" All the nervousness, all the insecurities, all the doubt will soon wash away if you reach out for my hand, and trust that I have been in your shoes before. By far the greatest task I have had on this earth thus far.

Challenge Accepted Day 1

So I accepted this challenge to write one blog post everyday for 7 days straight. Probably one of the hardest things I can think of to do, since I'm pretty aware of my weaknesses and writing is most certainly one of them! Besides being a weakness there's the idea of people reading and judging you're thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears, concerns and so on and once you publish it, it's out there forever and there's no take backs!

Well here goes nothing, I want to challenge myself and take chances in all parts of my life and this is the big one for me. I want to thank Lisbeth Darsh for bringing up this challenge and can't wait to see this thing through!

How long are blogs supposed to be anyways? lol... Day 1

                                     

Rough times have not come to stay, they have come to pass!

Fear and doubt gets a hold of us all, it can be a dream killer. It's an ugly infectious dieses that for the most part is held at bay with a strong mind, just as our body has it's immune system to fight it's battles against dieses. Although there are times fear and doubt might overwhelm us, and if we fail it's easy to give up. Greatness isn't reserved for the few and privileged, the greatest have faced fear and fear might have knocked them flat on their ass, but they refused to stay there, they got up over and over again.

There are times we have to prescribe our own medication to help us fight fear to remove doubt. Maybe the Rx is reading a book, separating your self from negative people, putting your phone away, going to back to school, hell it could even be getting up on time, whatever the case maybe you have to face that fear, and say that failure is a chance to do it again but stronger.

When you feel like you just can't bear one more failure, when the load gets to heavy to bear, when you can't take one more step... this is the time to move forward and separate your self and be the best you, you can be. Not everyone will see or understand your struggle, people will doubt you, careful not to let them infect you with, their opinions of you is not your reality. You must see your dream for yourself no one else can do it for you.

I dare you to challenge yourself, become an individual, invest in yourself and invest in your dream. The world will never be the same cause you showed up! Greatness is not for special people, you have to believe you are great. Define your value and you will hold fear and doubt in it's place. You can live your dream!




I remeber fear and doubt creeping in at this moment, I could hear the people that cared about me in the background urging me to pick up the bar. I'll never forget that moment.

 

Paths

I chose a different path, some based on fear, some based on duty and ideals. Now I have to live with that choice. I'll always be behind the curve when it comes to my peers as their views on what success really means to them. I know that the people that truly know me and know who (more of a "what", cause I didn't even know who I was back then) I was a long time ago know that I might have been fully capable of getting a good job and maybe nice things but I would have been miserable on the inside. I have been in fights over my insecurities with good friends in the past, and knew that's not me who ever I am.

I learned valuable lessons through war. Tomorrow is never promised and struggle develops character it either brings out the worst in you or the very best. And I've struggled with feeling the worst and the best. I can't change who I've become but it's better than what could have been.

Cause through war I learned Crossfit. Crossfit teaches me that there are people who care about more than what they have and see today, that there is hope that through struggle they will overcome and be better tomorrow. Those people will pick you off the ground and help you rise when the gravity of things just "seems" to heavy. That gives me hope..... sometimes hope just has to be enough.

 

I don't MISS IRAQ

Man I think it's time to join a VFW or something. Iraq was such a big event in my life, I can't really believe I was there. It's almost a blur or it like it never happened. Yet I know it's changed many generations of families here back home. Some people have become stronger for it, some have never really come back emotionally and some never came home at all but one thing is true that no one is the same person. To say I miss Iraq would be false, to say I miss all the great soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors wouldn't and if those people I created those bonds with, asked me to go again, I would in a heartbeat.

Embrace the Suck

From my first WOD Crossfit has been something that has made me appreciate the fact that there is so much I suck at. If you’re not ready to accept that fact, Crossfit is a real destroyer of Egos but don't worry, because if you have an open mind and a willingness to learn then this initial shock will subside to feelings of joy and great accomplishments (if you’re willing to put in hard work).

Stepping way way way outside my comfort zone and speaking to a large group about the days Team Hero WOD.