Tip: What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger!

All of us have faced challenges in our lives at one time or another. We may have had a difficult teacher in school, a difficult coach in a sport in which we participated, or perhaps a family member was personally challenging to us. Whatever the case, hopefully we can look back now and see how those circumstances have helped to develop character, stamina and endurance in our lives.

I remember my ninth grade Biology teacher, Mr. Charles Ragsdale. He was, by far, the most difficult teacher I ever had. He was having a “love affair” with biology and wanted us to join in! He was just so passionate about the subject of biology! Maybe you were different, but when I was fourteen years old, biology was the last thing I was interested in. The little bit of interest that I did have in biology had more to do with girls than science!

Mr. Ragsdale was passionate about his subject matter. He wanted us to learn everything there was to know about biology. I remember having to study for his class more than all my other classes combined! He taught me more in that one biology class than I learned in any other class in high school. That was probably because he made it so interesting and because of his love and passion for the subject matter. You know what? Now that I am grown, I am still fond of biology. It was a difficult class which I thought at the time might kill me, but, in the end, it just made me stronger, smarter and better.

I have heard that if a bone is broken in the human body, when it heals, the place of the original break will be stronger than the rest of the bone. That is because the body has had to work hard to repair that specific location.

I do not know what you may be going through right now but let me encourage you to take a different look at it this week. Change your attitude about it and realize that the struggle is probably a good friend that has come along to assist in making you stronger. The extreme difficulties we face and live through make us better people in the end. I am not saying that we should be excited about problems and challenges. I am saying we should be grateful for them. I know that if we deal with them with the proper attitude, in the long run they will make us better.

One of my favorite scenes is in the first Rocky movie. Apollo Creed has beaten Rocky Balboa half to death and after knocking him down over and over again, many times, Apollo thinks the fight is almost over. Apollo has taken a beating himself and is very much looking forward to the fight coming to an end. Rocky can hardly stand up, but looking through his swollen eyes, he motions for Apollo to come towards him and fight him one last round and then Rocky yells out, “I’m still standing!” I will never forget that scene. Apollo Creed looks down and shakes his head in disbelief. He had no idea that he was just making Rocky that much more determined to win. You see, Rocky knew the secret of this week’s Tip. He knew that what did not kill him, would make him stronger and better in the end. Well, after watching the next four sequels, you know that Rocky went on to greatness; thanks to Apollo Creed.

Now, I realize that is just a movie but there are many similarities in it to the way real life works. If we remain standing and keep dealing with the challenges that we face on a daily basis, in the end, we will be victorious in whatever we do.

I don’t know about you, but I want to face life with the attitude of, “I’m still standing!”
Tip: What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger!
Have a great week! God bless you!

Dr. Robert A. Rohm