SPARTAN SERIES #155: “I AM DIFFERENT—-IT IS BETTER TO LOSE OTHERS THAN LOSE YOURSELF JUST TO FIT IN”

How many of us has heard the saying, “When in Rome do as the Romans do?” or “You have to go along to get along?” Wow! Each of these is an indictment against the sovereignty of the individual. Both sayings encourages compliance that is usually antithetical to personal creativity and responsibility. Go ahead! Follow the crowd without thinking….It’s easy…..and too often we do just that.

I have lived long enough to have felt the barbs from well-meaning and from others not so well-meaning that indicate we are “just too big for our britches” or we are “addicted to the big thing” or we try to do “great things to compensate for our other failures and so we will be more readily accepted.” Just remember this! When you follow your passion you will walk your own path, and many times you will walk alone. Almost nobody will understand you and many people close to you will criticize you. I really don’t care what they say. It’s more important that we try to understand why they are so harsh. Lastly, we have to keep our eyes on the goal.

In bodybuilding the goal that we set for ourselves to get to the next level is really a short term goal but it has to be assailed as if it’s the final event of our mortal lives. When we train it comes at the expense of things we could have been doing that are as important. We have chosen and we continue. Each of us has lost friends along the way because our paths separated. There is no moral reason for it, it just happened. Unfortunately sometimes the separation is permanent.

Bottom Line in all this: Follow your passion and know that not everybody will be happy with you. But, also know that you don’t have to succumb to the opinions of others. Keep your own spirit and your own self intact—and you are the winner! This is your time. Don’t squander it in little games. Play BIG!