Bounce Back

Life will always have it's challenges, it's up and downs, it's successes and disappointments. It's inevitable and learning to accept that is sometimes very hard. We often live in a world full of faith in who we are and what we are meant to do, and that is challenged on a daily basis by factors that we often times can't control.  That test of our faith creates doubt, and though as Shakespeare said, "modest doubt is the beacon of wise." We sometimes carry that modesty a little far.

I've faced challenges all of my life, just as you have and everyone else who has lived on this planet. We are struggling against a lot of odds that we have, over time, eliminated their effect on living. We have food and water and shelter. With these basic needs already covered and taken for granted, we focus on self improvement and the things we 'want' in life but don't necessarily need. These are what we call dreams, and most of us never truly dream of our true potentials. We seek what we can see as attainable, not realizing that if we work a little harder, bounce back a little faster, have more faith in ourselves that we can dream bigger, and achieve more.

It wasn't until week three of SFAS that i realized how limited I would think about my physical capabilities. There I was with a rucksack and a contraption on my back with more weight than I even weighed. Every step was pain, and misery in almost every muscle. My brain was yelling, screaming for me to quit at every instance. I told myself that I would not, that I could not! I made it the 6 miles of misery with 185 lbs on my back and the soft sands of Camp MacKall underneath the soles of my feet. I had done it, and in the process of the physical pain had forged mental toughness. Had realized my potential was not even close to being met before this, and not even now.

Those obstacle we face in life, they are there to teach us about ourselves. We may find one to hard to carry or hard to cross and turn around. We fill our minds with doubt about surpassing them, and end up putting mental blocks on ourselves, that we can't do what is extremely possible. Opposition in our minds eye is often the greater of the opponent than our actual physical one to face. Even if we fail a first time, we much use a cliche or ultimatum as some kind of motivation to continue on, to try again. Because trying again is the moral victory we seek for self strength and courage. We will fail, we will not always make it to the top, but we must be willing to try again, and never settle for anything less than reaching our bests. Our doubt combats our faith and only we can choose who the victor is.

I've doubted plenty in my life. One thing that I will never allow doubt to creep in on; is myself. I will never doubt my own abilities. Perhaps, sometimes, I will not dream of their full potential,  but whatever potential I presume I have, I will meet. There will be times when I fall short of what I'm after. If I try and try and try again and still fail, I will hopefully have the clairvoyance to understand if I can't defeat this obstacle, then perhaps I'm focused on the wrong one. Perhaps it's not the obstacle that I should be focusing on, but what lies beyond that obstacle. No one says that you have to defeat every opposition faced, so long as you make it to the end of the course.

Innovation, perseverance, clarity and resourcefulness are the parts of my tool of faith. I use that tool to fight doubt, and in the end that faith will bring me success.

Doubt whom you must, but never doubt yourself. -Christian Bovee