We need those times where we get the sh*t kicked out of us to keep us humble… and keep us looking up to the stars. There are going to be times in life where you are going to have to battle. You may be beaten up emotionally, physically, spiritually…and I found that what defines a person at their best is what they do when their back is up against the wall. Do you give up? Do you get scared? Or do you grab that fear…those butterflies in your stomach…stretch your neck and puff up your chest…and march right into battle. There are definitely times when I have confronted this situation. There has been one time where I really gave up…and I will never forget that for the rest of my life. The feeling was, almost unexplainable. I felt dizzy. I can truly say that it was the first time where I just sat down and quit…and I can tell you that the results were not good.

I want to share with you something that might help you when you are having hard times.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt

The only people who suck are the ones that don’t give it a shot. The one’s who look for a cushion on the wall when things get tough. I have been a sucker. It’s a bad feeling. I think the word to describe that feeling would be powerless. There is no shot for you when you say forget it I don’t believe in myself. Then the checker board just got flipped. So what life just quadruple jumped you and landed on the end of the board creating a double stacker King chip. Your never going to figure out if you can overcome overwhelming adversity if you decide to walk away or flip the board. Keep playing the game, and forget about what just happened. It may sting, burn, hurt, and send shivers down your spine…but you can’t live life looking backwards…I promise you, you will run into something hard that typically bangs right into your shins.

Today I went and watched one of my co-workers battle it out at her first Muay Thai tournament. You could tell she was slightly timid for a few rounds…and then something fantastic happened (in a good way)…she got rocked and punched in the face so hard. After that, you could tell that a fire was lit under her rear and she started battling like crazy. She ended up winning her group for the tournament, which is incredibly impressive. But that situation where she got punched in the face is exactly what I am talking about…which leads me to having you watch the video below…something that I have watched over and over again throughout the years.

So what are you made of inside? Cookie crumbs or iron ore? Best part about life is…you can pick.

Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project