2818: Adversity is What Makes You by Ross Enamait of Ross Training on Opportunities for Growth

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Health Daily. Adversity is What Makes You by Ross Enamait of RossTraining.com and I'm your host and narrator Dr. Neal.

[00:00:09] Hey, happy Wednesday and a Merry Christmas to you if you celebrate and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily where I read some of the best health and fitness blogs to you usually with a little bit of commentary at the end.

[00:00:20] Now since today is not only Christmas Day obviously but also a Wednesday and Wednesdays are usually when I give you an inspirational quote, I thought, well, let's combine the two.

[00:00:31] And so here we go. Quote,

[00:00:33] Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don't quite know how to put our love into words. Harlan Miller

[00:00:46] With that, let's get right to today's Christmas episode and start optimizing your life.

[00:00:56] Adversity is What Makes You by Ross Enamait of RossTraining.com

[00:01:01] One of the biggest myths of all is to believe that you'll someday achieve a level of success that catapults you beyond the struggles of life.

[00:01:10] Over the years I've seen countless athletes and entrepreneurs who have been fooled to believe in such a fantasy.

[00:01:15] Success is falsely perceived to be a lavish world that's free of pain, free of worry, and free of misfortune.

[00:01:23] Sadly, no such world exists.

[00:01:25] Life will always include its share of hardships.

[00:01:28] With that in mind, don't shy away from the truth.

[00:01:31] Instead, change your perception of adversity so that you can eventually benefit from its experience.

[00:01:37] No one is immune.

[00:01:39] Joe Rogan has discussed adversity and its relevance to us all.

[00:01:42] Joe Rogan's words resonated with me as I instantly thought back to one of my favorite quotes.

[00:01:48] Quote,

[00:01:49] When something bad happens to you, you have three choices.

[00:01:52] You can let it define you, you can let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.

[00:01:57] End quote.

[00:01:58] It was many years ago, but I still recall reading these words for the first time.

[00:02:03] I nodded my head in agreement as I replayed certain experiences in my life that proved such words to be true.

[00:02:09] There's no doubt that I wouldn't be the man I am if I hadn't faced some of the challenges that I did as a youngster.

[00:02:16] Ironically, not long after I saved that quote to my list of favorites, I found myself living out those words again.

[00:02:22] It was four years ago this month when I woke up one morning to hear that my best friend had been tragically killed in a car accident.

[00:02:30] We were best friends as children and throughout my adult life.

[00:02:33] We had both worked hard to build successful careers and happy families.

[00:02:37] Life was going well for each of us.

[00:02:39] There were actually times when I thought to myself,

[00:02:42] Holy c***, we really made it.

[00:02:44] But then, out of nowhere, I was once again reminded that whatever you have can be gone in an instant.

[00:02:51] There's no such thing as working yourself to the point that you're immune to pain and struggle.

[00:02:56] Life doesn't care who you are or what you've done.

[00:02:58] It can come out of nowhere and snatch away everything you've worked to achieve.

[00:03:03] The moral to the story.

[00:03:04] I'm not sharing my story for sympathy, but rather as a reminder that adversity doesn't discriminate.

[00:03:10] Eventually, it finds its way into everyone's life.

[00:03:13] Therefore, don't use your struggles as an excuse.

[00:03:17] No matter what you are going through, someone else has it just as bad or worse.

[00:03:21] That's not a reason to stop living.

[00:03:23] If anything, it's a reason to keep going.

[00:03:26] Losing my best friend hit me hard.

[00:03:28] I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm an emotional person

[00:03:31] and I was a mess afterward.

[00:03:33] Even writing about it four years later is upsetting.

[00:03:35] Yet, as much as I wish it didn't happen,

[00:03:38] I know that I'm a stronger person because of it.

[00:03:41] Final thoughts.

[00:03:42] As depressing as this entry may sound,

[00:03:44] it's important to be realistic about life.

[00:03:47] I've seen far too many athletes achieve some early success

[00:03:50] only to come crashing down after encountering an unexpected hardship.

[00:03:54] They basically bought into the idea that they were too good to be knocked down by life.

[00:03:59] As a result, they weren't prepared when it happened.

[00:04:02] Consequently, I'm always brutally honest with my athletes.

[00:04:05] I remind them that everything they've worked for can be gone in a flash.

[00:04:09] So don't waste your time or talent.

[00:04:11] Just because you've tasted success doesn't mean you can take your foot off the gas and continue to thrive.

[00:04:16] There is no easy way to get ahead or to stay on top.

[00:04:20] Anyone who has accomplished anything worthwhile had to travel a difficult road to get there.

[00:04:25] Never be foolish enough to believe that your problems are the only problems in the world.

[00:04:29] Things can always be worse.

[00:04:31] Fortunately, it's also true that you can always do more.

[00:04:35] It won't be easy, but life isn't supposed to be.

[00:04:38] Living is a privilege that's revoked to many each day.

[00:04:41] So stop making excuses and instead, make the most of your time while you still can.

[00:04:47] Quote,

[00:04:48] You'll never find a better sparring partner than adversity.

[00:04:51] Walt Schmidt

[00:04:56] You just listened to the post titled,

[00:04:58] Adversity is what makes you, by Ross Enemite of RossTraining.com

[00:05:03] And I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:05:05] Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:05:08] When I teach my stress management class,

[00:05:10] I love using the quote that Ross mentioned earlier.

[00:05:13] You have three choices when something bad happens to you.

[00:05:16] You can let it define you.

[00:05:17] You can let it destroy you.

[00:05:18] Or you can let it strengthen you.

[00:05:20] And I always see nods in the classroom where students are nodding their head going,

[00:05:24] Oh yeah, I get that.

[00:05:25] I like that.

[00:05:26] Whether or not that's put into practice is a whole different story.

[00:05:29] I've been guilty of not putting that into practice.

[00:05:32] And I teach this stuff.

[00:05:33] So I totally get it.

[00:05:35] We're not perfect.

[00:05:36] Life will knock us down.

[00:05:38] It's knocked me down many times.

[00:05:39] But something that I try and force myself to think about when life does knock me down

[00:05:45] is this other quote that I like using.

[00:05:47] In fact, it's in the signature part of my emails.

[00:05:49] It says,

[00:05:51] Do something today for which your future self will thank you.

[00:05:55] So when life does knock me down,

[00:05:57] I think to myself,

[00:05:58] How is this event that has knocked me down going to feel in a year or five years from now?

[00:06:04] And then I think about that last quote I just shared with you.

[00:06:08] Can I do something today for which that person in a year,

[00:06:13] that me in a year or that me in five years will thank me for?

[00:06:17] How can I pick myself up and start walking again?

[00:06:20] Now let's be honest.

[00:06:21] There are experiences that are going to knock you down metaphorically

[00:06:24] and you won't be able to get up on your own.

[00:06:27] You'll need some help.

[00:06:28] And that's perfectly fine too.

[00:06:29] If you're unable to pick yourself up,

[00:06:32] reach out for some help.

[00:06:33] It's perfectly okay.

[00:06:35] You don't always have to do these things on your own.

[00:06:38] If you're celebrating Christmas today and you're with family and friends,

[00:06:41] look to those people.

[00:06:43] Look to them to help you if you get knocked down.

[00:06:47] Oof, that Chumbawamba song from the 90s is now stuck in my head.

[00:06:50] Let's quickly forget about that.

[00:06:52] All right, that does it for me for today.

[00:06:54] Thank you so much for listening.

[00:06:55] Thank you for subscribing to the show and sharing it with someone.

[00:06:58] Have a great rest of your day.

[00:07:00] A very Merry Christmas.

[00:07:01] And I'll see you back here for tomorrow's show where your optimal life awaits.