Comfort is the enemy. More and more professionals in a variety of organizations will give you the same assessment. An easy life, although comfortable and even stable, will not scratch the proverbial itch your psyche requires to be content. The comfort trap often plagues our service members during times of reflection when they are battling demons. The solution, you ask, is to find healthy opportunities to challenge yourself physically to improve your mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
Organizations such as We Defy; Mission 22; and Red, White, and Blue, to name a few, exist to find healthy opportunities for our veterans to push themselves to the brink without the loss of life, limb, or serious injury. Thank you to the volunteers at the aforementioned organizations for possibly being the one thing that may stop a struggling battle-buddy from taking his or her own life. Today is Armistice Day, also know as Veterans Day, have you checked in with your service member?
The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.” ~President George Washington
https://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/21-famous-quotes-to-honor-our-veterans-on-veterans-day.html
Inspiration
I still wear the uniform, and until recently, my wife and I were serving as a dual-military couple. Days designed to respect the duty and sacrifice of our military family are Hallmark events for us, and we both understand the meaning of selfless-service and living a values-based lifestyle. The memories and lessons gained in uniform will be passed down to our children and follow-on generations as examples of service to our nation necessary to ensure our rights as Americans are protected.
Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!” ~Sun Tzu
https://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/21-famous-quotes-to-honor-our-veterans-on-veterans-day.html
Election day has passed and the final phase to solidify the leader of the free world is upon us. Thank you to all who have casted a ballot and exercised your right to vote as an American. That being said, I hope the second and third order effects have minimal impact to those who’s party member was not selected and we can move forward peacefully into the next year.
Keep Rolling Along
Another wave of COVID-19 is making its way across the globe and once again we’re in a state of mission essential businesses only being afforded the luxury of being operational at this time. It’s not new, we do not know when COVID-19 will no longer be a consideration, and all of us are feeling the impact of this phenomenon. Thankfully I have mats in my home.
In times of turmoil it’s important to search for collateral beauty. This past week I promoted my son and daughter, Dominic and Brianna, for their hard work on the mats. My Baby Buddhas have been putting in the work, whether they wanted to or not, week after week learning the gentle art from Mami and Papi coaches. It has not been without its challenges. I purchased puzzle mats for the living room and continued to work through warmups and fundamental techniques for my little jiujiteiros. My wife, Claudia, and I continue to train as well, focusing on fundamental techniques, flow rolling, and situational live-training to work through the weak points in our games.
“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.” ~Elizabeth Edwards
https://home.hellodriven.com/50-resilience-quotes.html
Theses are the days that will separate the strong from the weak. The moments when we are at our lowest point and choose to keep improving our position are the moments that define our character. Us as a whole are disadvantaged and are unable to plan day-to-day activities without the fear COVID-19 will cancel our plans, and yes, the word normal is prefaced more with new than we would like to see, but there is always a better option to choose than just quitting on ourselves. Don’t forget to thank a vet, keep moving forward, and best wishes to all of you making the best out of a bad situation. The only way to go is up. One team, one family! ~Doc