A reason to be thankful

Two years ago, someone I knew was dying.

The signs weren't significant but the fact of the matter was this person was killing himself.

Every day he would wake up and make decisions that were slowly but surely draining the life from his body. The devil inside him was winning every battle and the rabbit hole he was falling down had no end. He was consumed by everything that he knew was wrong but had no control over how to stop it.

Just one more beer, what's it gonna hurt?

Just one more cigarette, you know you want it.

C'mon, just one more line, you can always get higher.

Such negativity rain down on him like a monsoon and the depression was starting to wear on his psyche. He would look at himself in the mirror and want to put his fist through the face of the person that was staring back at him. All the while, he was putting on a happy face for his friends and his family; he didn't want anyone to know what was going on.

Like every defining moment in life, an opportunity was laid before him and he was giving a choice – live or die. It was literally that simple.

Take this opportunity to break free of the strangle hold of addiction and start building a better, healthier life……..or continue down the path of self-destruction, into a darkness that most people don't have the strength to break free from.

After deciding to rebuild, a war broke out; a good old fashioned battle of good versus evil, with life on one side and the devil from within on the other. While everyday was a struggle, he fought his battle one day, one hour, one minute at a time. Just like watching paint dry, the process of recovery was slow and boring. Every day he would wake up and measure the food he was going to consume that day. He would re-read a life changing article as his motivation and stare at pictures of his out of shape body as a reminder of what he was trying to change. He would go to the gym and lift weights from upwards of two and a half hours, just to help make sure he would be strong enough to fight the demons that would surely come back to haunt him.

He walked away from everything that was comfortable: drugs and nicotine.

Then people started to notice something was different. A mental toughness was coming through that nobody knew he had hidden deep inside. The way he talked about life changed, hell the way he viewed life changed and the appearance of his body was changing as well.

Two years later my friend is not the same person he once was. His life is full of positive daily adventures; he hasn't had a cigarette since he went cold turkey two years ago this Sunday. He has been clean and sober from the drugs that once were a mainstay in his blood stream. He has a whole new life in front of him and there is no negative end in sight

It's amazing the power of change and it's amazing what happens when given a second chance at life.

This person was me two years ago and every year at this time I become more and more thankful for my second chance at making my life better. I am thankful to the two coaches who, with a ton of resistance from me, wouldn't let me stray from the course and kept me focused on what I was trying to do. I am thankful for my friends who stood by me and encouraged me along the way and I am thankful to my family who I never let know how bad it really was but only showered me with love and praise when I came clean with them.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!