*Written October 22, 2018*
Good Morning from Columbus.
This week’s WOW comes from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus 1/2 Marathon I ran yesterday. It also comes from a phrase I’ve been continually hearing from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
When’s the last time your back has been against the wall? Was there a time that your options and the decisions you made in your life were limited to 1 or 2 choices? Did you realize that these exact moments happen every single day for you?
This exact moment happened at Mile #4 for me yesterday. I was running on an incline, at a comfortable pace when all of a sudden my shins tightened up, my knees began to buckle and my back flared up. If you remember my “small battles” WOW from my training run 3 weeks ago, you would automatically assume I flipped a switch in my mind to power me through the rest of the race.
This was different.
I was listening to a podcast from The Rock a few days ago and one of the reasons he’s become so successful was that he keeps “the hard times” at the front of his mind. If any of you know his story, he was evicted from his house when he was 15, kicked off the island he lived on, cut from the CFL, and had only $7 to his name (among other things). In every circumstance he faces, he reminds himself that his back has constantly been against the wall and that he has no other options, but to move forward and fight.
Were my circumstances completely different from his? Absolutely. However, his message was to keep moving, no matter what. Long story short, I kept remembering that podcast in my mind and finished the race STRONG because I realized the only option I had was to move forward. No option to complain and no option to stop. I remembered every hard time I went through as a kid and a young adult. Everyone has them.
My takeaways and action items for you?
– Remember those times you went through/are going through to fuel you.
– Remember the people you have in your corner who are depending on you.
– Remember that the only option you have is to fight like hell and move forward.
– Remember that it’s always a decision and choice that YOU have to make.
Forward. Always.
