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Appreciating Honesty... With Yourself
It’s always the simplest things, that are the hardest to do, like getting out of bed, going to the gym when you’re too tired or even being honest. I tend to be an honest guy, with myself and towards others. Even though it’s not something that everybody likes to hear, I try to be honest, not only because it’s what’s right but because it’s about respect. Now, I’m not saying just to go around giving your honest opinion to everybody when it really doesn’t matter. But honesty when it matters builds trust, it builds character, it builds relationships that last.
Honesty, though, isn’t just about telling the truth when someone asks a question. It’s deeper than that. It’s about having the courage to stand in your own truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. That starts by accepting what’s around you without negativity or complaint.
In my past years, I’ve realized that things can change with a snap of a finger, but what most people don’t seem to realize is that this is just the way the cookie crumbles. You can’t escape it. Whatever it is, no matter how big the chunk, it usually balances itself out through the truth of it Things happen, and when they do, you can’t change them, but you can try and fix them.
Former singer and businessman Jimmy Dean once said, “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” In other words, why complain and be negative when you can change your perspective and try to do the things you can still do with a smile on your face.
Last year, I broke my ankle and tore my ankle ligament. I had surgery to fix the bone and to replace my ligament, which meant I couldn’t walk for three months. I hit a guy, wiped out and broke my ankle in a skate. The moment it happened, I knew it was broken. I started laughing through the pain knowing how stupid the injury was. I mean, the adrenaline helped, but it didn’t matter, it happened.
The hardest part about being honest with myself through times like that was knowing that I couldn’t do much, not even skiing. It was really hard mentally. But thankfully, I just finished reading You Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, so I put to the test the philosophy of “no pain, no gain.” My upper body still worked, so I trained my upper body, but, sadly, without leg days. I showed up to every practice on the bench and put a smile on my face. I adjusted my sails. To a certain extent, being injured is never fun, especially being out for a whole season, it gets depressing, but at least it gets better.
So why be negative when it won’t change anything? Be you, be confident with yourself, be appreciative. Why not just be positive?
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