Do It No Matter What!

I know you have met those people that seem to keep pushing regardless of pain, obstacles, and heartbreak.  No matter what happens, they just keep on going.  I don't know about you, but that was certainly one of the lessons I learned as a young person.  Whether as an athlete, a musician, or just an average everyday person, there are always times that I have had to keep going even when I thought I was at my breaking point. 

That was this weeks lesson from Eli.  At some point last week, he pulled a muscle in his leg while we were playing.  I felt so bad as he limped around.  I checked him several times and there were no cuts, he just seemed to be tender while he walked, so I figured we would give it a few days before I took him to the vet, just to see if it would heal on its own.  The hardest thing about the week was keeping him from playing and hurting himself more.  It was not an easy task.  Once he gets in his head that he wants to do something, it's pretty difficult to ignore him.  He can be pretty relentless.

After a few days I finally gave in one night and thought I would throw the ball a few times to him just to passify him.   It was amazing to me that as we played, he lost his limp, and I could almost see a smile on his face (which always looks goofy by the way).  So there are two lessons in this.  The first is, sometimes you just have to push through the pain.  Now I am in no way saying that you should be stupid about this but really I think there are so many times that we make all kinds of excuses about why we don't do something.  We hurt too much, we aren't talented enough, someone else is better, I just can't do it.  Pick your internal excuse.  We all say them.  But Eli's simple desire to keep playing through the pain was a great lesson for me.  So often, I have those moments of self doubt that tell me that I can't do something.  I was plagued with them as a younger person.  But I am slowly learning that the greatest tragedy is to look back at life and realize that you never really got to where you wanted to be because you made too many excuses.  I don't want to live like that.

The second lesson that is equally important is about passion.  There is no doubt to me that Eli LOVES, and I mean LOVES to play.  I would most definitely call it his passion.  Although he was injured, he had such a strong desire to play that it didn't matter that he was hurting.  He was willing to do it no matter what. 

Do you have a passion that you have to do no matter what?  I have a few that are like that for me.  Music is the main one.  I think about it in the morning and I'm thinking about it when I go to bed.  I love writing and performing and connecting with people in a really special way through music.  My other passion is writing and speaking.  The whole idea for the book about Eli has been such a great time for me to work on.  I love it and I love talking about it to audiences.   

No matter what your passion is, find a way to do it.  I say all the time, your passion may not be the thing that makes you money and helps pay your bills, but it has to be part of your life. 

Two lessons, one dog!  The wisdom continues!