Let adversity reveal your gifts.

When I was a senior in high school, I was one of the top discus throwers in my state (Washington). I held (and still hold 19 years later) the school record, which I broke that year.

One of the many things I learned as a competitive athlete is that sports don't just do themselves.

I had a coach, but his ability to coach me relied on me showing up for practice, putting on my throwing shoes, picking up a discus, and throwing it. Over and over and over again.

He also recommended I learn weightlifting, do strength training during the off season, do plyometrics three times a week (something I always hated), and throwing shot put and javelin to diversify my skill.

I wasn’t forced to do any of those extra practices, but even at 17 years old, I understood that they were meant to help me focus and improve in the area that was important to me.

I had the exact same access and advantage as every other kid on my team - we all had equal time with my coach and access to these other resources (for free - lucky us). I’m convinced I was so successful because I dared to be great and not just mediocre, and because I was willing to do the work to make it happen.

What's remarkable about all of this is that I suffered from severe asthma and allergies and could hardly breathe through most of these experiences. I spent much of the track season sucking on a nebulizer dosing me albuterol at 3am several nights a week and sucking on my inhaler during our daily practices and weekend invitationals.

I’m sharing this with you because I want to illustrate something that in these terms will seem obvious: there was no way I was going to be a better athlete if I didn’t show up and do the work. My coach couldn’t throw my discus for me during practice, and he definitely couldn’t during meets. I had to do the work if I wanted to be successful.

And, while not all athletes are crippled by asthma, the best athletes in the world have faced massive adversity in their lives. The reason they are great is because they don’t allow their perceived obstacles to be a hindrance to their success. If anything, they let the obstacle be the reason.

In short: they refuse to be broken, and they let adversity reveal their gifts.

There is nothing different when choosing to embark on a transformational journey. Every single one of us has obstacles and has experienced adversity, and every single one of us has to show up to do the work if we want to improve or make change in our lives. There are no exclusions to this. There are no shortcuts.

If you’ve been taking transformational workshops and working with coaches and you haven’t seen results, it’s worth considering whether you’re really showing up. What excuses are you making that are preventing you from taking advantage of what’s right in front of you and expanding into your greatness?

---

Have you hit a wall in your own growth, and do you continue to hit it pretty much wherever you go, no matter who you’re with? This type of resistance to growth is not uncommon, and when we boil it all the way down, is rooted in an unconscious fear that needs to be delicately unraveled. I work with high functioning humans who are top performers almost everywhere in their life, but who, in rare circumstances, hit up against fears like this one that are stunting their continued growth. If this feels like you, reach out and let’s talk about how I might best serve you.