putting up a good fight

What do you do in a fight? I have personally never been in a real fight in my life but in life I have fought many of the "unseen" battles this life sometimes throws! You know the ones that hit you when you are not looking! Well, I'm sure many can relate to those blows that life throws. When things are going well, it seem like you finally have it together and, bam! Life throws you a curve ball.

Well, in life I have had too many curve balls to count. But, it seems that those things are what make me a stronger person. Looking back I can see that those are the things that have shaped my character and made me a stronger person in the long run. I heard it said that pain is just weakness leaving the body. How amazing to see something that is painful as actually strengthening us.

I guess if you thought about it like going to the gym than it would all make sense. You see, I am comfortable when I eat whatever I want and sit on the couch. But, when I go to the gym and get on the elliptical it is always a pain to get through the first 5 minutes. The first five minutes on that machine are the most grueling and painful. My muscles are not prepared (even with stretching) to push through the cycle of "getting going". Everything inside of me is screaming "I don't want to do this". But, I push through the pain and slowly but surely my muscles warm up and it becomes easier with every push to keep the momentum. It is the first five minutes of pain that I really struggle with. However, the next time I step on that machine I can feel that it is easier than the last and the more often I do it the easier it gets. I guess, with working out and with life it is the same thing. It is really hard to get through something at first but the more I work at it the easier it gets. Hence, the weakness is leaving my body and those trials become less painful the more work I put into them.

So this makes me think, do I really work out the things in my life that need shaping? Do I push through the pain to gain strength or do I just let it take over me and sit in the unhealthy comfort of doing nothing? In the long run this is not good for me and I am ultimately depressed when I don't see the results I want to achieve. The real question is how bad do I want it?

How bad to I want the desired result? When you are in a fight and someone is throwing punches you are going to get hurt if you do not protect yourself and fight back. It is the same way in life. You must fight though the circumstances that may be painful. Do not let them overtake you, keep yourself in good physical, mental and emotional condition or you will be that much more unprepared when those "life blows" come your way.