A Little Yet Big Message from Apolo

I was watching the Today Show this morning (as I do every morning) and Apolo Ohno was on as a guest with his new book, "Zero Regrets." And the reason I'm writing about this this morning is because of two things he said. Really his entire interview was inspiring but two things he said really reached right through to my heart. He Said, "It's about living with the cards you were dealt," and "It's not how you start, it's how you finish."

Those two quotes are really important to me and I think to many of you who are reading as well because for me, at least, I have been so stuck on my past that I have been unable to move forward and live for my present, for my future. I've been stuck on how I "started," instead of focusing on how I will "finish." And I've been stuck on how I started, on my past, because I didn't do everything right. I have regrets from my past and I can't get past them. But I need to retrain my mind, and my heart, to move on from that. It's become an old excuse for not doing all that I can NOW. It's an old excuse for not picking myself up and doing what I need to do to "finish" with no regrets, knowing that I did everything to make the most and the best of this second chance I've been given.

And as for "living the life you were dealt" I also have a hard time dealing (no pun intended) with the cards I have been dealt in my life. I ask the question "why" everyday I wake up, every time I look in the mirror, every time I'm invited to a gathering where there will be a lot of people, every time I get a stare, every time I go into surgery, and every time I'm in pain. Instead I curse God. I'm going about this all wrong. I need to stop asking "why," and just accept that these are the cards I've been dealt with in life. That perhaps these cards I've been dealt are a blessing, rather than cursing God for them for my eyes have been opened to what is most important in life. The cards I was dealt put me at the bottom of life and because of the "deal," I really have nowhere to go but up, if I can learn to play these cards right. And I think I am learning to play them right. I am looking into going back to school and I am slowly getting out more and being more confident when I'm out with people. It's unfortunate that it took a terrible accident for me to gain sight again of where I want to go with my life, but these are my cards, MY cards, and I must learn how to live life with those cards.

Thank you, Apolo, for inspiring me to live my best for at least today and, hopefully, keep those words in the forefront of my mind so I can live my best for the rest of my life too.