What if this is it? What if your life, right now, is as good as it’s going to get? How does that make you feel? For me, it would not make me feel particularly good. You see, I’m in my 60th year on this rock, retired, and what I would consider successful. So I could sit back and enjoy my remaining days in relative comfort. I could read some good books, fish more, and enjoy a glass of scotch every now and then. I can’t do that because I still have the drive. I love to be challenged, I love to be uncomfortable, and to push myself to be better. The song, Walk by the Foo Fighters sums it up for me. I’m always “learning to walk again.” When one chapter in my life closes, I have to open up another and start from scratch to learn something new. I have to learn how to live life over again. “I don’t ever want to die,” is a great line from the song. Life is about the journey and as long as you continue your journey, you’ll never die while you’re living.
I have climbed many mountain peaks in my 60 years. I have listened to the crunch of the pebbles under my feet and felt the coolness of the rocks as I grabbed them to pull myself up. Every time I succeeded in something and reached that mountain peak, I have a tendency to sit back and enjoy the view for a while. There are times when I thought that I would never have to climb another mountain. I would think that this is it, that I don’t have to go through any more pain or hardships. That I had finally arrived. Then I would look up and there it was, another mountain peak calling my name. That drive would kick in and the pain and hardships would become a distant memory like the heartbreaks of youthful love. Off I would go to tackle another challenge. When I conquered that challenge, I would look up and there would be another mountain peak. Some people would say that I’m just a glutton for punishment, but I would say it’s just part of the journey of life. I was never happy sitting on the sideline, I always wanted to get into the game. I never wanted to look up at the mountain from the ground, but rather look down at the ground from the peak.
When I wrote my post titled, “The Journey,” the majority of my memories were about the process, not the completion. I have fond memories of going through different training and schools in the military and with DEA. Several of the schools involved a lot of physical hardships and painful experiences, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. It makes me happy to relive those times in my mind. That was my journey and I enjoyed it. We are all on a different journey and I encourage you to enjoy every moment of it. Challenge yourself and become better than you are right now.
Do You Want More Out Of Life? Only 4 Days Left!
When I began with the question, “What if this is it,” I hope it brought out a little fear in you. I want you to feel that tight, nauseous, nerve-racking feeling in the pit of your stomach. I want you to say, “NO! I want something better.” No matter where you are in life, you should always want something better. You should always be striving to achieve more. Put yourself in uncomfortable positions, positions that suck. Make those uncomfortable positions comfortable and then go out and find something else that is uncomfortable. There is so much out there for each and every one of you and you can have whatever you want as long as you’re willing to go through uncomfortable times.
There isn’t anything special about me, I can’t play a musical instrument or build a house. I can do just about anything as long as I have instructions. I can follow instructions or a good YouTube video that shows me how. I’m pretty much just like the majority of the people on the planet, and you probably would not look twice at me if I sat down at the table next to you in a coffee shop. I’m just me. It is said that God gives us our gifts at birth. One of the gifts that God gave me was patience. I don’t have to have something right away. I’ve sat on the runway in the middle of nowhere for three days waiting for a plane full of drugs to arrive. I could sit in my car on surveillance for 8 to 12 hours and it never bothered me, others would start complaining after an hour. My patience allows me to set a goal and work towards that goal without expecting results immediately. A lot of people give up on their goals because they don’t have the patience to let their goals grow and give their plan time to work. We have become a “Drive-Thru” society where people want to order something, pull up to the window, and have it already prepared for them. I would rather eat at a restaurant where the chef takes his time preparing the meal. It might take longer, but in the end, it tastes so much better. When I set a goal to accomplish something I always put an end date on the goal. If for whatever reason I don’t accomplish my goal by that end date, I just reset the date. I don’t change the goal.
Do you want more out of life or is this it for you? Are you satisfied with where you are today in life or do you want to make a change? Are you willing to take on something outside of your comfort zone? Is putting up with some physical or mental discomfort too much for you? When you see successful people, do you think that they are different than you and that’s why they are successful? They’re not. They’re just people like you and me. They had a dream, set a goal, made a plan, and worked on their plan. Whenever they would run into roadblocks, they just adjusted their plan, they didn’t change the dream. If you’re not happy with your life as it is today then, change it.
This Is Not It!!
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