5:45 AM, yesterday
Yesterday morning, I had stopped by a convenience store along side state road 84 as I was driving to our South Florida personal training studio.
I had been up since 4:00 AM working on some stuff and decided to stop by the store to pick up some coffee since I was starting to feel tired from waking up earlier than normal.
As I was parking, I saw some people loitering near the store entrance. It didn’t look like the safest crowd but it didn’t stop me from getting out of the car to grab the coffee.
As I walked up to the group (needed to get past them to enter the store), one of the guys (about my age) decided to target me for some verbal harassment. He was clearly drunk (there was a bar near the convenience store).
Luckily for him and myself as well, I was feeling pretty chilled out so I ignored his provocation, and I went in the store and got my coffee, ignored some more verbal provocations, got into my Jeep and left.
But it got me thinking…
We were two guys about the same age (I might have had a year or two on him), but at 5:45 AM yesterday, although we were in the same physical location, we were in very different spots.
I’m married, wouldn’t mind having kids soon, and although I’ve had some ups and downs, I still believe in the beauty of America and the American dream. Hopefully I’m making a positive difference in the lives of those I know on a day to day basis. And that’s why I got up at 4:000 AM.
The other guy had clearly been up all night, was drunk, and causing problems for those around him.
I actually feel sorry for him. I wonder what made him get to that place.
My point in writing this is not to talk about how I’m better, but to encourage everyone to fight the good fight. To not give up. To keep moving forward. And when you to falter, when you get knocked down, you get back up again.
Detiorating your brain with excessive amounts of alcohol (or any other drug) certainly isn’t the way to do it. If you are having a hard time coping, here’s three ideas of things you can do to help you get through any tough times you are facing:
1) Exercise - it gives you an uplift and helps you think more clearly in times of stress.
2) Connect with family and friends- researchers find that the happiest people have the strongest ties to family and friends.
3) Don’t ignore your spiritual side - most people I know feel much more fulfilled when they have filled the spiritual holes that are in their lives. Your faith is like a rock that can allow you to get through things you couldn’t get through otherwise.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. I invite you to leave your own remarks for others by commenting on this blog.
If you haven’t done so yet, I invite you to download our Ultimate Exercise Guide for free. If you already have it, I invite you to send friends and families to the following website so they can get their own copy:
Best,
Doug Jackson, M.Ed.,CSCS
www.PersonalFitnessAdvantage.com