It is one my favorite lines from a movie. Amazingly true and correct that it is almost scary. I saw it but not until years later, did it completely resonate in my head. It is from Rocky, and he is talking to his son about life and he says, “You, me, or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.”
We have been hit with a lot lately. Some much more than others. That does not lessen the impact to how it impacts and affects you. We are all facing battles that no one knows about.
I will make this simple as I can. Go talk to someone. Go. Find a counselor, a therapist, a friend, but my goodness, go talk to someone. As men, we have been told our whole lives we are weak, so weak, if we do.
You are not, know that. You are not. I am living proof.
Don’t listen to that nonsense and go talk to someone. Nearly twelve years after my mother passed away, I am seeing a counselor to deal with the grief. Unfortunately, grief has some very good friends that follow it everywhere. They are anxiety and depression. The three of them can be a deadly combination, and it only gets worse.
The grief was overwhelming me, making me feel as if the world was closing in. Coupled with friends who have passed away, and mistakes along the way, I felt it all changing. I had to do something.
Go talk to someone.
I had lunch recently with a friend who is going through some things and I mentioned that I was seeing a counselor for all of that. He said, “You? Of all people, you?” I laughed and said the old phrase, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
Men are stubborn. We are hard headed. We don’t want to be told what to do. We don’t because that is how most of us were raised and doing anything else is a massive sign of weakness.
So be it, call me weak. That is fine. I have read countless stories of men who have committed suicide, men over 50, because some life event happened and they felt they had no where to turn. They had no where to go. They felt hopeless. And lost.
Go talk to someone.
Heck, email me, BIGJOEONTHEGO@gmail.com, and I will get back with you immediately. I reached out to a dear friend who told me to go talk to someone and it has helped immensely. It took a lot to do that but I did and it was so eye-opening to me. I felt so lucky that I had that friend but you know what, most of us do. If you say you don’t, trust me, you do. Find them and talk to them. They will listen.
When anxiety, grief and depression knock on your door, answer it. Don’t let them keep knocking. Answer the door and tell them you have some great news. Tell them they are no longer welcome, anywhere in your life. Do it. I did.
We are all on this journey called life and might as well do it together. I thank God for dear friends, great experiences and wonderful moments. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Don’t let it control you. You got this!
Go talk to someone. Lord, I am glad I did.