It's not what happens, it's how you respond.

john McGrath Blog - It's not what happens, it's how you respond.
Sep 15, 2020

It's not what happens, it's how you respond.


Power, strength, and control are the three attributes in life that most people crave and long for, whether physical, emotional or psychological. Some people spend their whole lives trying to grasp this while others have it in their grasp early on in life.

To achieve what I have thus far in life took hard work, dedication, and motivation which in return gave me power, strength, and control. I had it all; I was on top of the world! All my life I have been training hard up to the point where one could actually say that I "abused" my body, but I liked where I was heading, I liked it a lot.

Then all of a sudden my world was turned upside down. On the 6th of August 2016, I had to undergo an emergency back operation. Completely unexpected and way ahead of schedule. This took me out of my comfort zone and therefore I lost control of my body and in a way of my life too.

"Continues effort not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking your potential." – Winston Churchill

Waking up after the operation was quite an experience. You don’t really know how to respond or what to do next. I asked myself: what now? Initially, you have two choices either to wallow in your sorrows and feel sorry for yourself or take life by the horns and make the most of what you have got. I chose the latter.

I made peace with the fact that I have lost physical control, my power, and strength. I realized that now was the time to focus on my wellbeing and other areas of my life that I have previously neglected. In a good way, I was being forced to reflect on my life and circumstances. When the recovery and healing process started it was a "two steps forward one step backward" kind of battle and I had to learn to be patient – a skill that I found very hard to conquer. My mind and body had to learn to slow down and work together; they had to be in sync.

"Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waits for the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way." - Fulton J. Sheen

Finally, when I came to the conclusion that I had no choice but to make peace with the fact that I need to rest to heal and to regain my strength, I realized how hard I pushed myself to the limits. I realized that now I had to put my body first, I have to be patient, I have to take the time to reflect on my past and focus on what is important.

These days I make time for things that I previously neglected. I am focusing on my business, there are new strategic plans in place which I am very excited about, I have increased my social media presence and in such my following grew and , of course, I am taking the time to recover and heal. Discovering what your mind and body can do is amazing.

I leave you with this: make peace with the fact that you can’t control everything and that sometimes you must take a step back and reflect on what is important.

"Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waits for the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way." - Fulton J. Sheen