My dad once told me that life is just a series of problems, one after the other, until you die. Maybe you can get a feel for the kind of man my father was from this statement, but to be fair, he wasn't wrong. The word 'problem' connotes something negative but if you replace it with 'challenge' or 'setback', it makes more sense. Recently I was enjoying the beautiful fall colors on our local ski area, riding a trail called Sunshine Loop I have wanted to do forever when I slid off one of the bridges on the downhill. My foot did not release from the pedal and I fell pretty hard, landing on my twisted handlebars hard enough that they went through by face and knocked two bottom teeth loose. After a long ride down to the ER and 9 stitches, I immediately went into negative thinking and self-talk. Why? Fear. I was afraid that I was not strong enough to bounce back from this, that all my hard work would be undone, that I would return to the depressed state of shame and despair that once permeated my life. I called by nutrition coach who admittedly can lay down the truth like nobody else. She told me in no uncertain terms that setbacks are part of the process. The success comes not in following a plan to perfection but in how you react when setbacks occur. How fast can you get back on track, whether it's your training plan, your nutrition, or just your mental health when faced with a challenge. She is right (yea it gets old). I pulled the stitches out myself yesterday, 10 days after the crash, and know that the few days when I couldn't lift my usual weight, or taught class at 75% were just part of healing. I'm ok, back on track, and stronger than ever because I learned that when faced with a setback, I will not quit. So you won't either.
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