How Much Do You Want It?

I’m inspired by those individuals who recognize addiction and choose to not hide, not be ashamed but rather stand up and fight for their life. I once heard that if an individual wanted success as much as they wanted to keep breathing we would be surrounded by thriving human beings. But there lies the question, “How bad do we really want this?”

How bad do we really want recovery, furthermore what are we willing to do to make it happen. It’s 24 hours a day, it’s 60 minutes every hour and 60 seconds in each minute. Inevitably it all comes down to today. Today either we can heal as a group or we can crumble into oblivion second by second, minute by minute, hour to hour, day to day. Recovery is not easy sometimes. Seconds seem to go on for hours but believe me athletes it’s much easier to simply sit here on our ‘buts’. “I would join addict to athlete ‘but’ I can’t run. I’d like to go work out with the team ‘but’ I don’t have any running shoes. I’d like to support the organization ‘but’ I don’t have the time.” In Addict to Athlete, we work off the ‘buts’.

So we can sit here and get knocked around or we can find our way back one minute at a time. Your teammates cannot do it for you, nor can your coach. There are times when I look around and wonder exactly what this outcome is going to be. The one that stands out is the belief your life can change. Believing in yourself, believing in this team, believing you can climb your way back up to the top… one minute at a time. As you dig your fingers in and claw your way back up, understand that all those minutes will add up to hours. And all those hours will add to days, and those days to months and those months to years. You are creating a new history. I’m telling you, one day you’ll look back, you’ll see the sacrifice you made this day, this hour, this minute, this second as the defining moment in your life. Then as you lace up your shoes, take a deep breath and listen for the starting gun to fire, you will have been prepared to hit the pavement running, focus on the goal and enjoy the journey as you experience it. As the great Mohamed Ali once said, “I’ll show you how great I am.” Now believe it!