Spartan Series #95 “Today is all we have”

All We Have is Today—-And We Have Tons of Potential!

A dear friend of mine replied to my lamentation that I wished I had started doing bodybuilding when I was much younger. He said to me, “Doug, all we have is today and you have tons of potential!” Now this was and continues to be a wake up call for me. I’ve always been driven by a sense that I’m late and that all my friends and the world are passing me by. I never checked to see if my premise was true. I just responded as if it were true. I drove myself insane with the “TYRANNY OF THE URGENT” mentality. Pushing myself alone in the alley running sprints for track until 11 PM some nights, lifting weights in my room, sneaking into the stadium to kick extra points with only the street lights to illuminate the field. The list of things I did to “catch up” is endless. Thus, even though I have had some degree of success in bodybuilding at this later age I was still playing the game of regret and remorse. Boy, my friend allowed me to gain some very real perspective. For this, Doug Andrewski’s advice is forever written on my mind.

Today is the most important day of my life. I get to get out of bed and do the things I love and to hold my wife close to me. Nothing else matters. All of us needs to come to grips with this important concept of “lifting where we stand today.” — Peter Uchedorf of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Saints. There is no other battlefield than the one we face today.

Bodybuilding is the crucible we have chosen to advance ourselves and our characters. It’s challenges are daily and the rewards truly belong to only us. I would admonish all of us that are involved in this sport to just realize that what we do today will open up our future and propel us to a personal victory on the stage. All of us has tons of potential and it is totally up to each of us to bring out those great attributes to apply.

Remember what Doug Andrewski said to me, “Doug, ALL WE HAVE IS TODAY AND YOU HAVE TONS OF POTENTIAL!” This is perspective born of wisdom. Take heed to it and live the best of life for yourselves and those you love.