Just a couple days ago I was doing a therapy session, and it was actually with a trainer. He said, “This is experimental, Doug. I’m just letting you know. We’re actually going to put a cement block” … almost like a foam roller if you can picture it. It was actually PVC piping. I think it was about eight inches in diameter filled with cement, so it was heavy. I think it was about 75 pounds. … “and I’m going to put it on your back and put pressure and roll it back and forth.”
And as he was doing that, I started laughing and smiling. And he thought well, this obviously doesn’t hurt. I would think it would. “Doug, we’re looking for a pain scale of no more than seven. What is this?” I was like, “Oh, it hurts, it hurts.” He’s like, “Well, yeah, usually when I’m at this point, Doug, that people are screaming. They’re yelling at me. They’re telling me to stop.” And I said, “Look, I don’t know why and this has been for me for a long time is when pain comes or a bad situation for me, and I know I’m safe, I laugh. I just choose to laugh.”
I did this in sports and it reminded me as soon as he said that because I didn’t even realize that I was smiling about it. And it reminded me of playing soccer, soccer in college or just competitive sports. And in soccer, you’re going down the field as fast as you can, and at least for me, and you’re about to hit another man, right? Full speed. Someone’s going to get hurt a little bit here. And so what my teammates told me one time … this is my sophomore year in college and they said, “You know, it’s kind of weird. It’s a little scary because every time you go in for a tackle, you start smiling and laughing, or every time you’re going to go against somebody, really it’s going to be hard I think, we see you just start laughing and smiling like 10 feet ahead of time, especially with a slide tackle.”
And I thought about it for a little bit but I also knew some way, shape, and form I was safe. I also knew I was going to win. I was going to win the ball or whatever it was, and I liked that. I like that contact and I like that human, that feeling. But I have also had other adversities in my life. One time I had a friend as a joke push me from behind at a pool. I flipped over and cracked my head open and literally thought I was going to die. I was being rushed to the hospital. They were going to fly me, helicopter me out to another hospital. So what I choose to do … they thought, hey, this guy’s going to die. In the emergency room, they were kind of talking about it. Got to drill into my skull to release pressure. It was a whole episode.
What I thought to myself, I was like, “You know what? If I’m going out, I’m going out making people laugh, and I started telling jokes.” When I started telling jokes, the emergency room physicians looked at me and said, “First of all, are you crazy?” And they kind of assessed me and maybe I am a little crazy, but they let me go and they said, “You know what? We don’t have to fly you out. I’m going to trust you because you’re so coherent and you’re making such light of this situation, we feel that you’re safe.” And I was actually able to stay in the hospital and I ended up being safe. It was a long recovery for me, but this just goes over and over and over again. Right? It’s a choice.
You can lament on the bad things that happen to you, right? Somebody says something bad about you. They talk behind your back. You lose a job. You lose a client. You get injured. Somebody literally cracks your skull open, right? You’re playing sports or you’re getting a therapy session, which I’m so grateful for, that’s extremely painful, but I know what’s coming out the other side. I know I’m doing this and it’s funny. To me, it’s like I’m laying down and this guy’s, a big dude, rolling a cement tube down my back, and it hurts, right? He’s relieving pressure in the muscle tissue, the fascia, but it hurts, and it’s kind of funny.
That was my choice. My choice is I could cry, I could scream, or I could just laugh about this and find the good, and that’s what I’m going to encourage you to do. I think you should all express your emotions. I’m not saying you shouldn’t cry, you shouldn’t get upset. I don’t say that at all. But what I am saying is when the choice comes to be a victim or feel bad about yourself or to cry about something, or the choice is to laugh about it and feel good and smile and bring brightness to the world, I hope you choose that each and every time.
That’s it for me today. As always, share this with at least three people that you know just so you’re having better conversations that matter. It’s simple whether it be a sibling, simpler it be a family member, a spouse or co-worker, they’re going to appreciate you for that. And of course, if you haven’t already, go over to authorofyourownstory.com where you can get on our email list. If you get on the email list, you’re going to get a lot of freebies, like our 90-day game, the free Seven-Day Quick Start to Being the Author of Your Own Story, as well as the Bridging the Gap course. You have accessibility to all of these things, but only if you’re a subscriber. So, I want to make sure you have that option and the availability to do that. Of course, you can unsubscribe at any time. We all know how to do that. It’s easy. So, I hope it brings you value and I hope it gets something from you and I’d love to hear from you. Reach out to me directly via social media or otherwise, let me know that you’re a Daily Growth Hack listener, and let me know what you want to hear. All right. That’s it for me today. Go out and inspire someone simply by being the Author of Your Own Story. I’ll see you tomorrow.
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