You’ve been through your share of shit.
Pain, sadness, anger, confusion, fear, doubt, worry… you’ve experienced it all.
But they haven’t broken you.
It’s bottled up inside; emotions eating you from the inside out like a parasite. You can’t run, you can’t hide, and you feel trapped.
The thought of facing it leads to insurmountable overwhelm.
So it gets buried. Deeper and deeper into the darkest pit of your being.
Despite the pain, you’ve dealt with it.
Resiliency has proven itself to be paramount.
They’ve beaten you down, but you’ve been here before. You know damn well that you’ll be back up on your feet.
You can’t be broken.
Your vision, your mission, your purpose on this fucking planet are your reminders to get up and buckle your chinstrap.
You can handle this. In fact, you don’t have a choice.
That’s because you have a legacy to leave behind. You will not be remembered as someone who decided to give up on themselves.
Your pain, your anger, your darkness will not break you. That’s because you know that it will inspire those around you to deal with theirs.
Image credit: Jason Salmon © 123rf.com
The only thing to do is grow. Others are counting on you.
You can’t be broken.
You’ve seen nights full of endless pain. You’ve been heartbroken and faced tragedy.
You were hurt. You were crushed. You felt like you couldn’t get through it.
But you did.
Time passed and you healed. We all have.
You were kept in the dark, but you crawled your way out. You see the light, but at times, you’re dragged back into the darkness.
That’s OK. It’s become familiar territory and you know how to deal with it. You’ll see the light again. You have to.
You now know what it takes to get out.
You can’t be broken.
This time seems worse. This time it’s different than the last time. You don’t know how you’re going to deal, or if you’ll ever get back into the light.
Everything seems to be going wrong.
But you shift your thinking. You decide not to focus on what’s wrong and only on what’s right. You focus on you. You train hard physically. You read new books, take new classes, and meet new people.
You take a trip and experience different things to create new memories rather than reminiscing about old ones.
Once again life seems brighter. You realize your strength and how previous darkness has made you stronger.
You’ve grown.
You can’t be broken.
This life, your life, has true purpose, whether you can see that right now or not. You have a specific ability within you that can impact hundreds, thousands, millions of lives.
The true tragedy in life is to not show the world that ability.
To let it die inside of you.
When darkness strikes, that ability is the light within you in which you must shine on the fucking world.
And make no mistake about it; darkness will come, just as surely as the sun will rise.
You must learn, adapt, and grow from the darkness in this world; but never fear it.
It might scare the piss out of you at times, but that’s good. Because if you’re scared of it, but face it anyway, then growth will come.
And you will grow. Embrace the fear. You won’t know the answer to the what-ifs unless you walk through it.
But don’t worry.
You can’t be broken.
Pain is good. Fear is good. Discomfort is good. So don’t seek comfort. Instead, seek the pain of hard work. Seek the fear that comes from doing the shit that makes your heart pound out of your chest. Seek the feeling of discomfort from rolling out of bed before anyone else.
Consistently creating healthy resistance in your life will create the stimulus in which you will need to adapt. And as a result, you will be more prepared for the shit that life shoves in your face from time to time.
But don’t forget about the true beauty in this world. I firmly believe that discomfort and pain will lead to a greater appreciation for how beautiful this life truly is.
Of course there will be tough times. Oftentimes you have no control over them. But you can always control the way you respond to them. You can control your mind and the thoughts that consume it.
Show the world your toughness. Show the world that…
You can’t be broken.
You’ve experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
You’ve felt complete euphoria and unimaginable pain.
You’ve witnessed the unrelenting power of Mother Nature and the damage it can cause, and you’ve witnessed the beauty of the sunrise along the coast.
Nothing in life is all bad, nor is it all good.
There is a balance of good and evil, dark and bright, happy and sad.
It’s never going to be all good and beautiful, nor should it be. It is experiencing the balance of these things which makes us who we are.
You are a human being, and no matter how dark things may seem at times, never forget the light that you have in your life. Don’t forget about the incredible things you’ve already experienced, as well as the new experiences you have yet to see.
The world can be a motherfucker, but it can also be wonderful.
That’s the yin and the yang of life. Accept it, appreciate it, and respect it.
Remember why you are here and the footprint that you are meant to leave behind. That purpose will carry you through the difficult times.
Condition yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally by seeking out difficult tasks, learning and facing the debilitating fear inside of you.
Your life will change; your world will change!
You’ve been going through life with blurred vision due to the fog you’ve consumed yourself with.
It’s time for clarity. It’s time for a vision. It’s time to realize that no matter how hard, how painful, how difficult your life has become…
You can’t be broken.
Avoid the Traps
JP- Something like that haha
Nate Harvey- Thanks so much! Haha I guess my motivation stemmed from somewhere.
I am just finding this today almost a year later. Very sorry it took that long. As I sit here as a 51 year old strength coach at a small D3 school it made me recall the struggles I have gone through. Life is a mother fucker but it's those tough times that make us who we are in life. Forged in Fire as a therapist friend of mine likes to say. It's those tough times on the journey that help us work with our athletes. Help them get through their struggles. Not sure if you are a spiritual or religious person but I wear the following on a bracelet every day "For I know the plans I have for you; plans for you to prosper and not harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 I use this when life throws shit at me like you talk about in the article. Great stuff man, thank you