No one is coming to save you
There is no Superman. Spiderman doesn’t exist. Batman is contrived.
I’ve told my kids numerous times that no one will walk down the street, look up at our house, and say to themselves, “Gee, I’ll bet someone in that house needs a break. I’m sure someone in there needs a new start, better salary, 7% bodyfat, a bright and cheerful outlook on life, and a lifetime of things coming their way with no effort at all. Hey, guys. You just sit there and relax. I’ll take care of everything. NO, that’s OK, sit down. I’ll make sure everything in life works out for you. No questions asked. Need a higher paying job? I got it right here. Want better health? No problem. Want to be smarter, richer, more liked by everyone around you? Easy Peasy. Just sit there and I’ll get all that taken care of for you.”
This will never happen.
No one is coming to save you from your life. You aren’t in trouble. You don’t need saving. But you might not be moving forward in life. You might just be satisfied and complacent. And no one can save you from this fate but yourself.
You’re the only one who can save you. But you’re going to have to save yourself.
When I graduated high school, I got a job at a restaurant. I made $2.10 per hour. True story. After a year, I needed out. I went on the hunt for a better job. I loved lifting weights, so I got a job at a gym. They wanted me to teach racquetball. I didn’t know shit about racquetball. They gave me a ten-minute course and put me to work. I got in great shape. Then they made me a manager of the gym. Then I discovered my boss was putting his name on my commissions and stealing my money to buy cocaine which he was selling. I left. I sold auto parts. $3.90 per hour. Minimum wage was $3.35. I was barely making it. A friend suggested I work in a factory where he just got a job. I spent nearly 6 years there. All on third shift. After a year in, I realized I was not going to be able to do this my whole life. I started putting myself through school. I went to Ivy Tech for Architectural Design Technology. I slept 2-4 hours a day. Sometimes, I couldn’t fall asleep in that time, so I had to wait until the next day to get that 2 hrs. of sleep.
The way I saw it, if I wanted to improve myself and my lot in life, I had to sacrifice. And sacrifice I did. One week, I went 65 hours straight with no sleep. Then a 4-hour nap, followed by 40 more hours straight. Translation: I slept 4 hours that week. These were the fun times of grinding it out, looking to improve. I figured this was the price I had to pay to get better. All the while, I was lifting weights and teaching beginner’s classes at the karate school where I was earning my black belt. It took me four years to earn that Associate’s Degree. I got straight A’s. I used that degree all of ten months before my number came up on the police department.
Sacrifice. Grinding.
Success.
I spent 23 years on the police department. Most of it on third shift. When my wife got pregnant, I suggested we homeschool. This means she would stay home and I would work. I took several off-duty jobs. I worked 70 hours a week. Grinding. All this time, I was teaching martial arts and competing in powerlifting. But I got it done.
When I had my surgery in 2020, I was released from the hospital after 8 days. I was released on a Friday. My wound vac shut off on Saturday and I took it off. It was too late to teach my Saturday Tai Chi class, so I taught Tai Chi on Tuesday. I got it done. I was teaching fitness training at a couple’s house. I trained them on Wednesday. I got it done. My story isn’t unique. I am not special or different. People are doing much more than me every day. They are getting it done.
You can do it too. Truly, you can.
The moral of the story remains: if you want to do better in life, you must do better in life. You can make the decision that current events will no longer suffice. You can determine your own future. You can choose a new direction. You can formulate a plan of attack and execute this plan. You can conquer the old version of yourself and make way for a better version. You can do this on your own, ignoring the whining voices of naysayers who want you to continue as you are. Who want you to remain mediocre, malleable, manipulatable, small, obedient. These people don’t want to put forth the effort to improve themselves, so they will not tolerate others becoming more.
Ignore them. Do what you need to do. Sacrifice for it. Win it.
There is a saying that says things of value are never free or easy. And things that are free or easy are never valuable. Do the work. Challenge yourself. Take a chance on you. Bet on your own success. Win against only yourself, for only yourself. Live like no one else, so you can have things no one else has. Self-respect, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-worth, self-control. These things come from sacrifice and discipline.
You got this.
You know you do.
You can do it.
You know you can.
Do it.
How far can you go?
What can you achieve?
You can be so much more. See it. Be it.
Do the hard thing.
Weeg
If you haven’t tried Tai Chi yet, now is a perfect time to start. This is the whole “New Year, new me” part of the year. This week, some new students tried the class for the first time. They were genuinely surprised that their legs were getting sore from just a few minutes of practicing a beginner’s form.
Tai Chi sneaks up on you.
One of the students wears her Fitbit to class. Today, she announced she burned 360 calories during class. Tai Chi is gentle, graceful, calming, no-impact, and simple to learn. Come try it this week. Classes are listed below.
This week in Tai Chi, we will visit the Eight Pieces of Silk Brocade. It is an ancient Qigong (energy work) set that is thousands of years old and is said to improve health and increase longevity.
Classes are as follows.
Jasper
Tuesday 6:30pm
Dubois County Museum
2704 Newton
Classes are $12 cash
Evansville
Saturday 11:00 am
Unity of Evansville
4118 Pollack Ave 47714
Classes are $10 cash
I'm available by appointment throughout the week in Evansville for
Reiki / Acupressure
Herbalism / Nutrition
Therapeutic Massage
$60 cash
Message me by text, email, or Facebook Messenger to schedule an appointment.
812-568-5356
joe@tristateholisticwellness.com
In the Tao,
Sifu Weeg