I was, and continue to be, obsessed with the Navy SEALs. There are no stronger people on the face of this planet, no one mentally tougher, no one more bad ass, and definitely no one who believes in themselves more than those handful of men that put their lives on the line. I have tried to absorb as much of their culture as they allow to be public and it has helped me shape a fighting spirit. “The Only Easy Day was Yesterday” is one of the mottos they live by. It is one that I did not fully understand, that was until I became sick.
I used to want to print these words on paper and tape it above my door. I wanted a reminder that no matter what happened during the day, I would fight through it because at the end of the day, the world of crap, pain, annoyance, frustration, or whatever went wrong that day would be in the past, and that with tomorrow, new challenges would arise, some harder than others. I used to think of it in terms of workouts, that today I would put 100% effort in and it would suck as I went through it, but once it was over, I would look back on it as an easy task and tomorrow’s workout would be harder. But I had no idea what was truly in store for me in the near future.
When I got sick, I began to understand that I took my health for granted. The fact that I stopped taking my medication is a testament that I thought of myself as invincible, but slowly and surely, I learned that I was not immune to disease. My health slowly began to get worse, until I found myself jobless due to the fact that I quit two perfectly fine summer jobs (a story I’ve told before – not to be re-hashed here). I spent 6 months, maybe even 8 months, sitting in my room in my Mom’s basement, feeling down and broken. I wasn’t the same person I was before the illness, and I thought this was a bad thing. Yet, I powered through, with no real true purpose other than I didn’t really have much of a choice. I had already dropped out of Engineering at this point and was in my second year of Kinesiology. I really didn’t want to be known as the guy who quits every job and drops out of two programs, so I kept doing what I had to do, at first to minimal expectations I set upon myself. Slowly, I began to expect more and more. I picked up a copy of Mark Divine’s book “8 Weeks to SEALFit” which is said to try to simulate Navy SEAL training. I did as much as I could, but little did I know that it was one statement that would make the largest impact on my life.
“The only easy day was yesterday.” It is the motto I have taken from SEAL culture and applied to my own life. See, the funny thing is that even though those workouts in Mark Divine’s book make you want to cry, it is the mental fortitude, the pure mental toughness that you develop, that leaves a lasting impression on you. Without it, I feel as though I wouldn’t have been able to take the first steps out of my bedroom and towards sport and fitness. Of course I had the help and support of family, but the important factor in the whole thing has to be you. Now, quotes and sayings usually mean different things to different people, so I’m going to take this story and transform it into its meaning to me.
“The only easy day was yesterday.” To a SEAL, this is a sentiment of Hell Week. It means that if you thought today was hard, wait until you see tomorrow. But it also reminds the SEALs that, “yes today sucked, but you got through it and you are still here. Tomorrow will be tough, but you will get through it. You will still be standing here and when it’s over, it will feel easy.” Now, not everyone makes it through Hell Week, but the ones that do believe that they will. They accept that tomorrow will be hard and they choose to fight. I bring this mentality to facing chronic disease.
I have played football as a 120lbs linebacker against 250lbs linemen. I have fought in Jiu Jitsu tournaments and have participated in Kickboxing matches, yet facing chronic disease is by far the hardest thing I have every done. There was a point in my life that it had defeated me, or should I say almost defeated me, because I am still here, full of energy. I choose to fight back against my disease, and it is with the help of this Navy SEAL motto that I do.
Unfortunately, just like the motto, I bring good news with the bad. Just as the motto points out that tomorrow will be hard, I will say that as someone who lives with chronic disease, I know that when I go to bed each night, tomorrow will be hard. I won’t want to leave my front door because my stomach hurts and I will be terrified by the prospect of having to work a 12 hour shift. I know there will be pain, and I do not know when it will stop (just like the Navy SEALs). But just like the Navy SEALs that make it, I know I won’t give up. I know that when I crawl into bed at the end of the day that I made it, and I will do the same tomorrow, no matter how tough it gets. “The only easy day was yesterday” but I will crush today no matter what life throws at me. I have made that choice and I challenge you to make that choice as well. It is far from an easy choice, but it is one that you will never regret and one that will make you proud of yourself.
“The only easy day was yesterday,” because it has happened and you are stronger for making it through. It requires a certain mental toughness that I believe we all have to face the new day with a chronic disease. It’s about belief. Belief in yourself that you can tackle those challenges placed in front of you. I believe that we all have the ability to tackle any hurdle placed before us, even chronic disease. I welcome new challenges. I will admit that at the time of struggle I most certainly do not feel the same way but once it is over and once I have accomplished the day, it has already made me a better person. To further emphasize this, I draw upon a quote from Heraclitus. He said, “No man every steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” There is no better way to put this journey we are travelling down with chronic disease. Today may have been hard, but it has made you a tougher person. Tomorrow will once again be hard, but you are tougher and you can handle it. Yesterday’s problems have become easy for the person you are today.
“The only easy day was yesterday.” I share this quote and the quote from Heraclitus because living with chronic disease is hard. No one can contest that. To feel like no one understands what you are going through, to battle it day in and day out. It is a tough journey. But the human spirit is tougher, but you have to believe. You have to harness that spirit, that toughness necessary for the fight. Fight every day with everything you have and relax in those moments of respite, for God knows you’ve earned it. There is no greater feeling than crawling into bed after a day of battling, but there is a certain pride to be felt for making it through another day. Recognize the accomplishment of living through another day of chronic disease and not giving in. For every day you battle back, it is one less day that chronic disease controls you. So I invite you to go to bed tonight feeling accomplished, you made it through another day, and wake up tomorrow with a fire in your heart that burns so hot that you are ready to conquer everything that is placed before you tomorrow. It won’t be easy, but anything worth a damn never came easy. Fight on.