How I beat my inner doubter to become a firefighter weeks from my 39^th birthday and how to overcome yours.

Part 1 of several.

This is it.  Test day.  I have worked hard to prepare for this day, and I am both terrified and excited.   

I am standing in the gym at station 14 where the first elements of the Firefighter entry physical test are in progress.

The room is small.  It’s a gym where the station 14 firefighters work out while on shift.

Although it is a gym, this is not LA fitness. 

There is No treadmill.

No Stairmaster.

No Elliptical.

Just bars, weights and racks.

The benches scattered about the room show their age with white stuffing visible in the cuts and holes of the thin black vinyl padding.

 There is no bench for this test element, though.

For this test there is a bar with weights totaling 85 lbs and a line drawn on the floor, 4 inches from the wall.

It’s quiet.

You can hear the gentle squeak of gym shoes on wood as our...

Life is filled with challenges, right?

Sometimes, it feels like they are piling up.  

Of course, it is part of the human experience to have challenges.

These never go away!

And, sometimes it feels like the hard challenges are, well, adding up!

The last week, I have felt like maybe I have too much on my plate, too many challenges to handle.

I walked out my door on the way to physical therapy for my new hip and noticed something.

The daffodil.

Yes, it was blooming.

Awesome.

But, that isn't it. 

Or, it's not what got my attention.

We have daffodils all over the yard blooming.

This one is different.

This bulb had to grow a stalk over 3 feet high through a bush to bloom!

Now, that is resilience!

And, if you look to the left - there is another one!

Okay so this might seem a tad ridiculous but really if that daffodil can do it, can't we?

Be resilient.

Ok - but what is even better than being resilient?

Being Anti-Fragile.

Being anti-fragile is simply allowing each challenge...