Flipping the Switch - Living life to it's fullest

Prologue

Carpe diem. Live life to its fullest. Little risk brings little reward. Grab the bull by the horns. YOLO.

We've all heard these sayings and we all have a pretty good idea of their meaning. You only go around once in this life, so make it count. Do the things others only dream of doing. Adventure. Risk. Acquire all those amazing, romantic stories to pass down for generations, type stuff.

But when do we go from thinking about that awesomeness, to living the lifestyle of it, to really understanding it?
That point of understanding is when the switch is flipped. The lightbulb comes on, you awaken and the meaning is there without you even being conscious of it. You've gone from dreamer to doer. From thinking about these things, making active decisions to get them done.

For some, this comes easy. You were born to do it. You grew up with it. You've never not been a serious go getter. For the rest of us, we usually need an event or an epiphany, or both, maybe even several of them, for the switches to flip. Below, I outline my continuing journey to live the life that deep down I believe I've always longed for. I have thought long and hard about this and I think I can identify when my particular switches were flipped.


Open Heart Surgery

I was born with an undiagnosed faulty heart valve. It wasn't discovered until I was in my mid 30s and soon after I had open heart surgery to repair it. Prior to this event, my switches were in the off position. Sure I took risks and sought out "adventures", but they were often of the reckless and idiotic sort, with copious amounts of alcohol involved. I was just a guy sitting around, working, and getting fatter every year.

This is an old story, perhaps even a tired one these days. One you've likely heard before. A guy has a heart attack, realizes life is short and runs a marathon, or the like. But trite as it is, that was when my first switch flipped on.

Now, little did I know, stick switches into the off position too. A friend of my mom's said when her husband had the exact same surgery as me (aortic valve replacement) he went the opposite direction. He became so scared of death that he became afraid of life. He mitigates all risk and does nothing to jeopardize his "fragile" life. The Dr. said that's not uncommon. I never would've guessed, but then again, who wants to hear about the guy who cheated death, only to hide in his home and watch TV for the next 40 years?

But I took the route most are familiar with. I should be dead, so now it's time to live. This led me to seek help, for the first time in my life. Namely, to get fit, so I could enjoy this new lease on life and do something great and wonderful before the reaper comes to usher me off to the great unknown for good.

A couple days after getting out of the hospital.

Jonathan Flips a Switch

Recovery from having your chest sawn in half takes a log time. I also decided to through in some knee surgery shortly after just for fun, so it was a while before I felt good enough to progress.

I kept walking by this gritty little gym called Ultimate Fitness Lab near my work. At the time I was trying to workout on my own and failing miserably. Finally I called and spoke to Jonathan, the owner, and scheduled a visit. 3 years later, I still go to UFL 4-5 days a week and have found a great trainer, mentor and friend who continues to help me push my limits and be a better athlete.

That flipped switch lit the fire. I needed a challenge. Working out just to look good wasn't going to be enough. I needed to test myself.

About 2 years in at UFL.

Spartan Race

Sometime around the winter of 2011, I stumbled upon the Spartan Race. I had never done a race of any sort before. It was to be the first, of what soon became, the iconic Colorado Military Sprint of the Spartan Race series. It sounded difficult. Just what I needed.

I avoided reading to much about it. I wanted it to be a surprise. I got down to the Ft. Carson Army base not knowing what to expect. I couldn't get any of my friends to join me, so I went it alone. Looking back, I'm glad of this. It really made it that much more personal and life changing being on my own.

The race was tough. The hardest thing I had done up to that point. But felt so good to finish that race. I compete as often as I can now, even going so far as to run 4 races in a single day. The Spartan Race fanned that spark into a fire that still burns to this day.

At my first Spartan Race.

Brett's Death 

Around Labor Day, 2013, my oldest brother Brett developed a persistent cough. He was quickly diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and given a grim prognosis. By New Year's his doctor essentially told him to "get his bucket list" together. We talked about getting all 4 of us brothers together and doing a fishing trip in Costa Rica.

By the end of January, Brett was checked into hospice. He died 2 days later on February 2nd, 2014, surrounded by his brothers and mom and just a day after having all his closest friends come visit him one last time. It was his 48th birthday.

I can't explain what it's like to watch someone you love die right in front of you. It definitely changed my life and flipped a major switch inside me. I realized I had taken my brother for granted. He lived only about 45 minutes from me, my closest relative in fact, but we rarely saw each other. I knew that I couldn't put off the things I wanted to do anymore, because there might not be a later. We never got to take that fishing trip.

Miss you brother.

Epilogue

I still struggle with motivation and weighing risk v. reward at times. But when I do, I think back to these times when my switches were flipped. Although some are very traumatic times and memories, they help clear the clouds in my head and make me focus on what's really important. People and our experiences together. When a challenge seems particularly risky, I try not to shy away from it. Because I know the experience will by worth it, perhaps even life changing. I also truly understand now, that there are worse ways to die.