Persevere

“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do!”? Robert Schuller

“What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” ?-Friedrich Nietzsche?

It’s Saturday afternoon, and my mind is preoccupied with thoughts of what’s in store for me over the next few days.? Yesterday I received the phone call giving me the report time and the associated do’s and don'ts.? I think it is safe to say that by this time on Monday, I will be the recipient of two new knees.? The anesthesia and the surgery don’t really concern me; those factors are out of my control.? However, what I do control is the rehabilitation that will occur over the next few weeks.? One word will guide me through it; PERSEVERANCE.??

Following the surgery, the plan is for me to remain in the hospital through Wednesday, and participate in hospital-based PT.? Thursday I will be transferred to a Rehabilitation Hospital where I will receive acute care.? My understanding is that this involves pursuing physical therapy programs for three hours daily.? The goal is discharge the following Monday, and an unassisted walk to the car.? It sounds easy on paper, but I've also spoken to those who have gone through it.? The words of one friend stand out in my mind, “Just persevere and look to coming home.”

Perseverance is defined as doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success, but it’s bigger than that.? Perseverance is about the long game.? It’s about what happens not just in the first round of the fight, but in every round thereafter.? And then it’s what happens in every fight after that.? You see, perseverance is what you learn about yourself when facing obstacles in life and how you use that knowledge to overcome later challenges.

?I’ve printed out a 3” X 5” card that I will keep next to my bed; it simply reads, “PERSEVERANCE”.? It will be the first thing I see each day and the last each evening.? In his book, The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday writes, “The good thing about perseverance is that it can’t be stopped by anything besides death……Our actions can be constrained, but our will cannot.? Our plans - even our bodies can be broken, but belief in ourselves?? No matter how many times we are thrown back, we alone retain the power to decide to go once more…..Determination, if you think about it, is invincible.”

Have a great week and know that I'm

Embracing?the Challenge.