Working really hard towards a long sought goal and accomplishing it while having everything work out as it should, is a wonderful feeling. Cherish these moments. I love to see these moments and helping people accomplish their goals. I know what it’s like to train for something and have things work out as planned. There is no better feeling. And it feels even greater after going through times when stuff doesn’t go as planned. How to handle the situations when things go wrong and getting through the darkest hours is when the biggest strength can be found.
Any time I ever had a bad day on ride to Alaska and back, the biggest motivator I always thought of was how much worse the situation could be. Realizing there was someone out there at this very moment that was much worse off and that our bodies were healthy, just suffering, helped me make it through these times. Still, there are no struggles and dark times on the Alaska trip that can remotely compare my Uncle being paralyzed and not being able to ride at all.
The strength that you can find in your weakest condition is some of the hardest to find and will stay with you forever. Dark times can also come in the form of one’s demons. Knowing your demons and weaknesses are just as important as your strengths and in due time can be turned around into positive growth. How we carry ourselves through the times when we fail and fuck up is where our true character can be found.
A wise gambler once said: “when you get up, you get out”. Learning when to walk away with confidence, never get too greedy, and count your blessings before you lose them. Face the demons and say “Fuck You” I’m done. When true success does come, you will be able have the “fuck you position”. This is the ability to not let these demons (distractions, flaws, bad habits, haters, negativity, and bad persuasion) drag your success down and say “fuck you” to them.
Take the success with you in your good times to any hard times you ever have and be grateful; not thinking of your best times, but realizing how much worse it could be.
When being strong in life is all you have left and you can get through it, a race or game really doesn’t mean anything anymore, and you can overcome anything -with confidence.