Lessons learned

“Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst; a spark that creates extraordinary results.” – Author unknown

It just so happens that sometimes, late at night, when I am laying in bed reflecting on my day/my week/my month/my year/my life that I close my eyes, fade away, and dream of the way things COULD have been. All the “What if’s?” flood through my mind like a creek overflowing from heavy rain… What if my friend Brad would have never introduced me to his dad’s weight set when I was 13? What if I would have never changed my degree in college to Kinesiology? Would I still be as passionate as I am about health and fitness? What if I wouldn’t have moved back to Austin in 2008 after I graduated from college? What if I never met my best friend, Tyler Parsons, through Advocare? Where would I be now? What if I never would have gone and watched the Fittest Games last year? What would I be doing? Would I have found CrossFit? Or better yet, would I have fallen in love with CrossFit? What if I would have been content to work a meaningless job? What if my only concern was to be as wealthy as I could? Would I be training? What if I would have let medical setbacks become excuses which I let cripple me? Would I have given up? There are so many different questions with so many different answers that it seems to cast an ominous cloud of doubt over me at times…

There are so many different paths which I could have ended up taking. With each different path I can only assume that there would have been a different outcome, making me a different person than I have grown to become today. So let me first make one thing very clear… I am VERY happy with my life and where I am right now, BUT I will say that I have been through many ups and downs throughout my life. I haven’t always had my head in the right place. I have been broken. I have been down and depressed. I have been a bad friend, a bad brother, a bad son, and even worse, a bad person. I have made the “wrong” choices many times and have hurt those I love. I disrespected family and friends and burned a hell of a lot of bridges. Unfortunately, I have been forced to suffer the consequences. Yet, surprisingly enough I would not take away or change any of the choices I have made. I wouldn’t choose any other path then the one I have already taken. If I had to do it all over again I can truly say that I would do it the EXACT same way.

There are so many lessons which I have learned throughout the pain that have helped to educate me on the ways of life. I have learned not to worry about what others think about me; their opinions do not have to become my reality. I have learned to live my life the way I feel comfortable living it and not to try and be something or someone I am not. Some may like me. Others may not. Love me or hate me. Take me or leave me. I am who I am. Most importantly, though, I have learned to live my life in Christ and to have faith that He will lead me down the road I was meant to be on. I have learned that I am strong because the Lord gives me strength. I have learned to be a positive person because I have realized that life will have ups and downs no matter what, and that there is absolutely nothing I can do to change that. I am, however, in control of my attitude, and how I react to what life throws my way is a choice. A positive mindset creates positive opportunities. It is with realization that I find comfort. And it is this comfort which allows me to put aside all the “What if’s?” in my head and focus on the one thing I can control… My future.

A very bright future at that!