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Excuses Don’t Have to Paralyze You
Take it from someone that is paralyzed.
“You’re too slow!” “You’re too small!” I heard that crap for years as an undersized wide receiver. Sometimes it was from other players and sometimes it came from coaches. It didn’t matter. I used it as motivation. Now more than 20 years later, I have a terminal disease that should have killed me seven years ago. I use that same mindset every day and you can do the same. Just stop making excuses!
I was fortunate to have some amazing coaches throughout my nine years of playing football. All different types of men with different motivation strategies. Some screamed and cussed. Others were strong and silent. I heard a lot of different tactics over my time on the field, but one phrase stands out as the most memorable.
Excuses are like assholes and elbows — everyone’s got them!
Poetry, right? While I do have a set of elbows and an asshole, I try not to make excuses. That starts early every morning. No, I don’t get up and run 10 miles. I said I have an asshole, not, I am an asshole.
I actively choose to get up and fight every day, despite some challenges that are fairly sizeable. I am completely paralyzed, require a ventilator to breathe and haven’t eaten a thing in almost five years. But six weeks after being diagnosed with…
