Chubby and Lazy to Big, Boxing and Bold

Sitting in my parent’s basement, I can still remember scrolling through the Bell ExpressVu guide to find another re-run of Friends (an obsession of mine at the time because I had a huge crush on Rachel). I had some tasty Bold BBQ Doritos that were just the right crunch, spice and sweet for me, and a nice cold Dr. Pepper. This was happiness to me.

You know this song? “We’re here for good time…..Not a long time….So have a good time, the sun can’t shine every day.”

This song was fundamentally my lifestyle belief. I thought life was about enjoying as many simple things as you can.

I was barely 5-feet tall when I started high school at 14 years old, chubby, and I remember I couldn’t bench press 100lbs. I still remember being at my friend’s place getting trapped under a bar with that weight, and thinking “Holy shit I need to get stronger.”

I didn’t appreciate then that my shortsighted, living for comfort mantra was giving me the physique and lack of confidence that I earned.

I didn’t realize that happiness can come in many forms and through different approaches. I thought easy = enjoyment, but this gave way to my “boobies” where I would have preferred to have pecs.

So, I started with the bench press, because Bench = Chest = pecs.

I got quite strong by grade 11. Funny thing happened one day; I can still remember watching my good friend try to bench my workout weight. He could barely do 1-2 reps, when I could do 8-10 of the same weight. But I was afraid of him because he was a boxer… then I realized I must know more.

I taught myself as much as I could about boxing over the next 3-4 years. Day after day, I would go out to the large  machine shed on our family’s farm where I’d hung a heavy bag. There I would put in round after round, day after day.

By the time was 21 years old, I was finally ready to step into my first boxing club and formally started my boxing career. I had never felt a passion and drive like I did in boxing. Hockey was an important part of my life as a kid and I was passionate about it, but this…this was so different.

It’s like comparing a candle’s flickering flame to the raging inferno that results when you set fire to a dried, old Christmas tree.

The discipline changed the way I approached life. I realized life was about embracing the challenges and overcoming the obstacles because it makes you a more capable person. That perseverance is one of the most incredible and fulfilling forms of happiness. The best part is that this kind of happiness is well within everyone’s reach.

Not everyone has to attempt boxing to see this kind of fulfillment. The excitement is within self-improvement. Earning this level of happiness is about attempting to challenge yourself to do more; whether it’s exercise, cooking, or creating art. It can be anything that challenges you!

However, you must step out of your comfort zone to do it and it’s going to suck for a while. But then…then you overcome one challenge. Then another. And another. Now you’ve created a new skill within yourself.

In that same basement where I used to mow through BBQ chips and Dr. Pepper, but this time at around the age of 21, I was watching TV as I had many hours before and a famous JFK quote came up saying, “Ask not for an easy life, Ask for the strength to endure a difficult one.”

Boom. I got it…Let’s prepare to be stronger people for life because it’s going to be a tough ride. Boxing taught me discipline of self-growth. That if I work hard and prepare, I’ll be ready for whatever life throws at me.

Throughout my life I still use this mindset. Treating my life like a training camp; Do everything you need to and even when I get urges and emotional waves telling me to not do things or be lazy, you resist and remind yourself to act above that urge and emotion.

Before you know it, you no longer feel those emotions, but you end up loving what you’re doing and the person you have become.

Discipline and determination.

I am now far stronger than most, I am confident in my boxing knowledge to help create great athletes, and feel ready to take on anything life throws at me.

Quite a long way from the soft bodied pop and chips addict I once was.

Practice your discipline and find not only what you are capable of, but how much more happiness there is to discover through hard work and overcoming challenges with perseverance.