Bummer day... I've been training for this IRONMAN since January. Then we get record rain in East Tennessee and the wildest thing happens: I can't leave my property. There are 4 bridges north out of my area. Every one of them was compromised due to flooding. There's one road to go south to Asheville. Asheville is closed and underwater. No way in or out. I'm literally landlocked right now. Trapped in the middle if East TN. I never imagined this could happen. EVERY possible route is closed until the water level goes back down, or the road is rebuilt. Bridges have to be inspected before passable again. What am I going to do? I'm seriously bummed. Borderline depressed. This sucks. You know what sucks more? There are people really struggling because of water damage and I should be grateful that my wife and I are okay. I'll find another race. Maybe IRONMAN company will give me my money back. Maybe I'll do my own and buy the hat anyway (that's what I wanted most anyway). When things aren't in your control, what are you going to do? How much can you be prepared?

I went to school for electrical engineering. I wasn't particularly good at it, but I thought that's the career path I wanted to go down. I made it through with an average GPA. I was anxious to get out of my parents house so I applied for jobs all over the United States. I had job offers in Mississippi and Alaska, obviously I chose Alaska. I worked for a small cooperative in Kodiak, Alaska for 5 years. A typical track for electrical engineers is to get their BSEE (Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering), EIT (Engineer in Training certificate), and finally the PE (Professional Engineering license). I patiently waded through the BSEE, and I passed the EIT before graduating, it wasn't difficult compared to the degree I earned. The PE, however, has a pathetic pass rate. It was only 42% the last time I checked. AND it requires 4 years of experience underneath another PE. I won't bore your with the details, but essentially I didn't qualify for even taking the exam in Alaska because I was the only engineer working for the cooperative. I'm the only electrical engineer on the island and the Alaska board of engineers won't give me a pass. I tried everything, including reaching out to consulting engineers in Anchorage I knew, and I even asked my boss to write a letter of explanation, but no sympathy was given. That was just to take the test! I'd been studying for the exam for several months at this point, and it was definitely frustrating to be told my time at the cooperative was useless without a PE to check my work. Months went by, whenever I had a spare hour in the office I'd pull up the file where my PE stuff was and think about what I could do, or if I was stuck being an EIT. One day I had an idea. I'll get the license in another state and transfer it to Alaska. I checked the state reciprocity rules, and it seems to work. I looked for options close to Kentucky, as my wife and I were going to visit for Christmas. Shoot, the closest destination is Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I only have 20 days to start studying again. No other times or dates were available. I guess I'll aim for a Tennessee license!

Growing up, I had emotionally absent parents. It's not their fault, I don't believe they knew how to provide what they didn't have either. Because of this, it meant I was extraordinarily reserved and introverted. I was always labeled as "quiet"; that was often the first word people used to describe me. Though my mouth was quiet, my mind raced. I wanted to know how the world worked and I became an active reader. When problems arose, I figured them out for myself. My uncle constantly criticized me to my face for being "a 30-year-old in a 13-year-old body". He thought my childhood was dull and boring. Looking back, I can't say that I disagree with him. I am, however, thankful for the mental fortitude I developed over the years. I learned that mental endurance works for me. Maybe that's why I still choose the harder path to travel today. I'm quite comfortable doing long and difficult tasks, because I know I'll come out on top in the end, and few will try to follow. I'm not all the way there yet -I still have days I'm not proud of- but this is one of my strong suits. I know I'm not going to die, so I can take a step back, regroup, and push onward. What's your path to mental resilience look like?

My wife and I had a prenatal appointment last night at 5. We drove an hour one-way just to find out the appointment had been forgotten. Did I respond well? Did I shrug it off and move on? Did I let the events I can't control affect my mood? Was I mentally resilient? Alas, no! I was pretty frustrated to say the least. The appointment was immediately rescheduled after the mistake was realized, but now it means another 2 hours of driving. I don't hate driving. Traffic isn't bad here in east Tennessee. I love spending time with my wife, and I recognize the importance of going with her to these appointments. I wasn't feeling well to begin with, but excuses don't make up for how I let unforeseen circumstances effect my mentality. Instead, I should have let it roll off and I should have moved on as soon as possible. There's nothing else we could have done; the mistake was past. Learn from my mistake: don't let events that are out of your control, control who you become and how you behave!

Think of your life as a series of modes of transportation. Sometimes you’re walking, sometimes running, biking, or swimming. This can be both literal and figurative. Where is your plane headed? Who’s driving your boat? How many different trains are you riding on right now? Every person you meet can push you a little further down your path. Each day is an opportunity to move the needle a bit more than yesterday. Where did you start? At zero. That’s where we all begin, in every area of life. We start different categories at different times, competing in multiple races simultaneously. But how many races do you want to compete in? Can you compete in many and win? Yes, but not without sacrifice. If you only focus on one, it will likely progress further, but will you enjoy limiting yourself to just one? Imagine each area of your life as a car on a road. You can’t easily drive more than one car at a time, right? You drive one car for a while, then switch to another, and so on. This is what our lives look like, moving multiple vehicles down the timeline of life. Consider your favorite athlete—let’s take Cameron Hanes, for example. How many hours does he spend training for hunts or practicing with his bow? Many more than most of us ever will. He pushes himself a little further every day with consistent and intentional practice. But he doesn’t do much outside of that. In his book Endure, he discusses the significant sacrifices he’s made to pursue his dreams. Imagine how long it would take you to catch up with his experience! Let me share a few of the races I’m competing in, and how I rate myself on a scale from 1-10. A 1 means I’ve just started, and a 10 means I’ve perfected it. I’m training for an IRONMAN (3), starting my own business (5), buying land and building a house (6), getting ready to have my first child (2), lifting weights every day (9), and reading and praying daily (8). Every aspect of my life is something I can improve. But which ones am I prioritizing? Are they the ones I want to be prioritizing? I’d love to add playing guitar to the mix, but the other items take precedence right now.