I’m Not Getting Older, I’m Getting Better!

 This entry was posted on Monday, March 26th, 2018 at 2:25 pm


One of my most favorite movies of all time is Boyz n The Hood. Let’s be honest, I cannot relate to the movie at all, I don’t know what it is like to go through that kind of struggle. For some reason, I have simply always loved it. There is one scene in particular that I have always liked (the link is below, check out the first 40 seconds). In this scene, Furious (father), is cutting his son Tre’s hair. As is their relationship, Tre takes a swipe at Furious by calling him old. Furious immediately cracks back, “I’m not getting old, I’m getting better.” This is the running joke within my home. Whenever my kids or my wife make the joke that Daddy is getting old, I immediately hit back with, “I’m not getting older, I’m getting better.” It’s the truth, I am getting better and I have no desire to go back. I struggle when around people talking about the good old days, probably more because I think, why in the world would anyone ever want to go back? I am more learned now than I have ever been at any other point in my life. Today, on my birthday, I can say with the utmost confidence that I have fallen many times, and somehow, someway I am here at 43 still getting up. I am a work in progress and I want to see how this whole thing gets even better. I don’t have it all together, I still make some bad choices, I still look like a fool regularly, I still have so many areas that I need to grow……. but, I am getting better. I will stumble today, I will screw up probably within the next hour, stress and anxiety will try to take over, and no doubt a depressive thought or two will try and manipulate my day……. but, I am getting better. So, if anyone tries to make the crack to you about getting old, remind them, “I’m not getting older, I’m getting better!”



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

(All) Brotherhood

Image
The two pictures above represent two stages of my life. The first, when I was around 7/8, I would meet a kid named Luke Misemer on my under 8 soccer team who would go on to have an incredible impact on my life. The second picture is a great group of friends (Luke second from left), who would represent such blessings in my life through a lifetime of challenges, with some success sprinkled in. In all, true brotherhood.  We recently lost Luke to Stage 4 lung cancer. 47 years young. When he told me the news of his cancer, to say I was devastated would be a complete understatement. He was my best friend for 40 years. 40 years of true friendship, 40 years of some conflict, 40 years of unbelievably good times, and 40 years of not knowing that 40 years was ultimately not long enough.  I was recently speaking with my therapist through my tears when he asked what I thought was essentially the reason he ultimately meant so much to me. I would’ve thought that the answer was pre...
Read more

(ALL) Anxiety, I freaking hate it!

Image
  This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2021 at 8:25 pm When I was in my early 20’s I was at a department store. If I remember correctly, I was simply returning something that my mom had gotten for me. I don’t remember there being a level of stress as that is not what stand out. As I approached the counter to pay, my vision started to become altered. My heart began beating harder and faster then I have ever felt. I was losing it, right in front of these people. “Don’t pay attention…..you can get through this…..this is nothing…..etc.” ran through my head. Next, it felt like walls were closing in on me as my eyesight began to close. In a moment, I dropped everything on the counter and ran to the bathroom where I would be perched on the toilet, praying to any God that would hear me, to please take this from me. It would be years later when I would learn that this was a panic attack. It was a terribly frightening experience for me. Anxiety is all about chaos in the brain and t...
Read more

(ALL) This Is How Much Exercise You Need to Help Prevent and Manage Depression

This Is How Much Exercise You Need to Help Prevent and Manage Depression It's not a scary number! By Hana Hong Do shorter days and blustery temperatures make you feel down? It’s totally normal to experience the fall and winter blues. In fact, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a mental health condition characterized by extended, recurring periods of major depression linked to seasonal changes, particularly the lack of natural light.12 Symptoms typically emerge in the late fall and early winter and subside in the spring. SAD, or seasonal depression, can include a whole bevy of negative symptoms, like difficulty sleeping, hopelessness, loss of interest, and low energy. There are several strategies you can try to feel better (hello, light therapy, weighted blankets, and therapy apps). But tons of research has found that one of the best ways to lower your odds for developing depression, seasonal or otherwise, is to get some regular exercise.3 And the best news? You don’t need to ...
Read more