Never Around, Always Through
On the preparation and resiliency for when the world calls
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Now, for this week’s meditation.
Theodore Roosevelt was born with a very bad case of asthma. It was so bad in fact that he would have coughing bouts that made his parents afraid he wouldn’t be able to make it through the night.
“One of my memories is of my father,” Roosevelt would later describe “walking up and down the room with me in his arms at night when I was a very small person, and of sitting up in bed gasping, with my father and mother trying to help.”
Roosevelt’s father pulled him aside one day and bluntly told him the truth:
“Theodore, you have the mind but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. You must make your body. It is hard drudgery to make one’s body, but I know you will do it.”
Roosevelt had a choice he had to make--he could live a life of discomfort with his asthma or he could listen to his father and work to make his body stronger. Roosevelt, looking up to his father and calling him one of the greatest men he ever knew, would take to heart what his father said and would throw himself into strengthening his body. Roosevelt would in fact do this so rigorously that he would become known for his determination and adventurous spirit.
Theodore Roosevelt was enthralled with the idea of being prepared to take on the world. From this young age he knew the odds were stacked against him and in order to strengthen the odds to his favor, he would have to do everything in his power to prepare for the trials of life. He would, in essence, do everything in his power to prepare himself for the moment he was called upon, whatever that moment may be.
He would go on to pass this same sentiment on to his children, taking them on long excursions. As one son would later write, Roosevelt would “rather one of them [his children] should die than have them grow up weaklings.” Soon to become known within the family as “scrambles,” Roosevelt would take his children into nature for long walks with only one rule: “participants could go through, over, or under an obstacle, but never around it.”
Being prepared for life’s future adversities is something the Stoics often meditated on. Marcus Aurelius would remind himself of the “foolishness of people who are surprised by anything that happens.”
And Seneca would reflect on the need to constantly predict what the future could hold:
“Your greatest fear lies in the same place as your greatest joy. When everything seems serene, the dangers are still present, only sleeping. Always suppose that something offensive to you is going to arise.”
As we often reflect on, life is an extremely hard and unkind place a majority of the time. Things do not always workout in our favor and seldom are they ever easy. We will encounter the pain of loss, the sting of betrayal, and the heartbreak of abandonment. We will work towards a goal and not meet it, or listen to the voice in our head that tells us to just give up already. And while we need to create a mind that is strengthened against these things, that mentally prepares for the trials and tribulations of life, it is not enough.
While our mind must be strong, our body must be able to match it as best as we can. We must also physically and emotionally subject ourselves to the strenuous life. It is too easy to become comfortable in our daily lives. It is through hardships that we gain strength and it is through those hardships we callous over our weakest points and find strength to persevere and continue on, where we learn about ourselves and what we’re made of.
The Navy SEAL Jocko Willink has created a mantra of finding the trials and setbacks of life as “good” events to better preparing for life:
“How do I deal with setbacks, failures, delays, defeats, or other disasters? I actually have a fairly simple way of dealing with these situations, summed up in one word: “Good.””
When setbacks happen, he says good, and reminds himself of the benefits of the setback.
“Oh, the mission got canceled? Good… We can focus on another one.
Didn’t get the new high-speed gear we wanted? Good… We can keep it simple.
Didn’t get promoted? Good… More time to get better.
Didn’t get funded? Good… We own more of the company.
Didn’t get the job you wanted? Good… Go out, gain more experience, and build a better resume.
Got injured? Good… Needed a break from training.
Got tapped out? Good… It’s better to tap out in training than tap out on the street.
Got beat? Good… We learned.
Unexpected problems? Good… We have to figure out a solutions”
It is important to be both mentally and physically prepared for the adversities and tribulations of life. When adversity strikes, we are better able to recognize the situation and remember our preparation for the event--remember how to put our training into action.
Or, to put in a way Roosevelt may have, it prepares us to find a way to go over, under, or through, but never around, never turning back, but rather preparing us for that life event. To not run around the event but to take it head on, to turn within us and know that we can and will overcome it, that we will get the best of it, and that nothing stands in our way.
Thank you again for reading and I hope you found this useful. Please feel free to heart, comment, or ask questions about this post. Suggestions are always appreciated and considered.
Until next week,
D.A. DiGerolamo
Good stuff right there...