Veteran’s story gives life lesson on achieving goals
Yep. I admit it. I watch “Dancing With the Stars.” I guess I could lie and say that my wife makes me do it, but that just wouldn’t be right.
The truth is I watch it because I get to see people overcome the odds by doing something physical in front of 20 million people on national television, and to be perfectly honest, I find it inspirational. OK, here we go. I can hear my friends laughing as they pick up this article, and I’ll probably never hear the end of it, but if you watched it at all this season maybe you’ll understand my point. This year an Iraqi war vet named J.R. Martinez won, and I have to say it was incredible. J.R. was a member of the 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq during the initial invasion in 2003.
On April 5, 2003, the tire of the Humvee he was driving hit a land mine. The other soldiers who were in the vehicle were ejected with minor injuries, but J.R. wasn’t so lucky. He was burned on over 40 percent of his body and his face was badly disfigured. At first, J.R said he didn’t want to live any more, but after some encouragement from his mother, he had a complete change of heart and began to see life more clearly. Since that day, J.R. has been able to accomplish incredible things. He has become a highly sought-after motivational speaker, soap opera star and most recently, winner of the coveted mirrorball trophy on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Right about now you’re probably asking yourself what in the world does all this have to do with a fitness column, and my answer to you would be: everything. You see, it’s people like J.R. Martinez who inspire others to achieve their goals. They show us that sometimes a tragedy may lend a unique moment of clarity, allowing us to step back and understand how fortunate we are to be alive. Every time you feel like you can’t get the energy to work out, go to the gym, eat healthy food or even get up and go to work, remember that there are those like J.R. Martinez who have had to overcome incredible odds just to have a normal life.
Some may call it corny, but when I see things like this it makes me want to work harder and challenge myself to reach my goals. I am truly inspired by people like J.R. Martinez who have overcome a most difficult situation and turned it into a positive.
He could have very easily felt sorry for himself and given up, and none of his accomplishments would have been possible, but that’s not what happened. Instead, he used a tragedy as a vehicle to achieve greater things.
The same principle holds true in our lives. We can accomplish anything we put our minds to as long as we want it bad enough and are willing to pay the price. We just have to believe in ourselves, give it our best shot and follow the examples of people like J.R. Martinez who show us nothing is impossible.
So whether you want to get in shape, run a marathon, lose weight or just live a healthy lifestyle, what are you waiting for? There are plenty of inspirational stories out there to help you get motivated to achieve your goals. It just so happens that this week mine was J.R. Martinez and “Dancing With the Stars.”
