In the last year of my life I have been fortunate enough to be at Iowa State, a state I knew nothing about, and far from home. So, I began my career with a lot of question marks.
Lets face it I had no clue how I would manage to take care of myself without my family there for me day in and day out. I had a lagging back injury that I had no control over, I had a girlfriend who I now had to begin a long distance relationship with, and on top of that the coach who recruited me left 2 weeks before school and happend to go to TCU.
I never knew that it was at times like this where your real character is exposed.
Who you are is really not how you act when everything in your life is going just right, because anyone can deal with that. Your real character is shown when you feel like your backed into the corner and you have no where to turn.
Everyday I see people quit, I see people back down to their problems, I see people turn back weeks, months or years later and regret not pushing themsleves out of that corner. At the same time there are those people who throw everything they have away, they let partying, relationships, and just outright lazyness destroy them.
Then, when things do not go right they wonder why??
I can’t live asking myself what if I did this or what if I did that, I will get put in a coffin and everyone will say he did everything he could to be the best person possible. I want to be old and be proud that I did everything I could to get where I am.
Everyone has times in there life where they struggle – they feel like they can not push on. I do not care who you are, keep striving for your goals, even when it seems so untainable because that is the true essence of character. Wake up everyday and ask yourself 2 questions:
1.) How can I become a little better today?
2.) Yesterday did I do everything I could to get better?
If you answer these truthfully you will expose your own faults and how you hold your self back from reaching your true potential.
Long story short I am as focused as ever and I am only a sophomore. I feel as if I have discovered more knowledge this past year and half, than everything I have learned the other 17 years of my life. I truly have god in my life once again, I’m running well and doing the things required to stay healthy. No more laziness! My family is doing well, and my girlfriend and I made it a whole year and 2 months doing the long distance thing.
More tribulations will come my way for sure, but I already know who the real Ian Warner is so that will not be a problem.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a very good article Ian,
I am particularly enlightened by the concept that the true essence of one\’s character is revealed during troubled times. I have have been with you through trying times, as well as the good ones. I can definitely say that you are very mature in dealing with issues, and being able to depict the most intelligent ways to problem solve. You have taught me a lot, and done a great job yourself.
Keep doing well, because your character is what has brought you past your injuries, and beyond your obstacles, and will continue to carry you above and beyond your goals.
Once again,
Great article
Thanks for the love, and ya I want you to remeber that no matter how hard things are going, thats when you really need to pick up and fight for what you are striving for. Ya my maturity comes from you and we have both taught eachother a lot. We have been trough so much, and I only hope to get better at handling any issues that may arise. I love support but always know that your support means so much more
Im going to keep fighting for the things that I want in my life, you already know what they are.
There was once a young man who wanted to make a lot of money and be very successful in life. So he went to see a guru. The guru said if you want to be successful you’ll meet me at the beach tomorrow at 4 a.m. The young man said “I want to be successful, not learn how to swim. The guru said “4 a.m. tomorrow”. When the young man arrived the guru asked him how bad he wanted to be successful. The young man replied “real bad”. The guru then instructed the young man to walk out into the water until it was neck deep. The guru then pulled the young man’s head underwater and held him there. The young man began to struggle but the guru keep his head underwater. Right before he was about to passout the guru pulled him up out of the water. The guru then asked “When you were underwater what did you want to do?” The young man replied “I wanted to breathe”. The guru then told him…WHEN YOU WANT TO SUCCEED AS BAD AS YOU WANT TO BREATHE, THAT IS WHEN YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.