“Every soul who comes to earth with a leg or two at birth must wrestle his opponents knowing it’s not what is, but what can be that measures worth. Make it hard, just make it possible and through pain, I won’t complain. My spirit is unconquerable. Fearless I will face each foe for I know I am capable. I don’t care what’s probable, through blood sweat and tears I am unstoppable.”—Anthony Robles
Anyone who follows wrestling know Anthony Robles. Few have overcome more to achieve the status of NCAA Champion. His story is a reminder fearlessness faces its foes—internal and external—to be unstoppable.
My daughter is on an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt kick. I, too, kinda like the show. It is not Anthony Roble-inspiring (it really isn’t all that inspiring, just entertaining), but the theme song gets stuck in my head, and my daughter often catches me substituting “unstoppable” for “unbreakable”. I like these two mentalities—unstoppable and unbreakable.
I am unbreakable in the present. I often cite the Nietzsche quote: “That which does not kill me makes me stronger.” I am, as James Allen wrote, as I think. Therefore, nothing can break me.
I am unstoppable going forward. My unbreakable spirit makes me stronger and stronger enables me to persist.
Life is about overcoming and enduring. I joke with my students a physical goal of mine is to just outlive the competition. If I simply maintain, I can be a world-class athlete when I am 100 years old.
I love the above quote from Anthony Robles. It speaks to our perceived limitations as being self-imposed. It speaks to our self-worth being defined not by what we have done (or have not done) but to what we can do. The greatest opponent one can ever face is the one who stands before them in the mirror. I am my greatest foe.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow. Be unbreakable. Be unstoppable.
Carpe momento!