2021. Three years ago. It’s been three years of writing this tiny blog. Last year was all about Gameplay Loops and kicking Imposter Syndrome to the curb. Year one was all about vulnerability and the lessons learned from an entire year of writing. Year three has been an enormous shift in Game Over. It’s Game Over Reviews now, game-focused, and I’ve started routinely streaming (and loving it!). Check me out on Twitch.
But, most importantly, the lesson I learned throughout year three is right there in the title. A sentence that is scribbled on vision boards and journals across the world. That, along with many more affirmations of gratitude, confidence, addiction, mindfulness, and thousands of other statements for mental health. They are just words without action, but actions I did.
And you know what? I learned that I can do whatever I set my mind to because I am good enough.
My Worst Enemy
Everyone is their own worst critic. Negativity is a poisonous thought train that rolls right off the rails unless I align the tracks before it’s too late. Sometimes it derails anyway. We all have our crosses to bear, and surely some have it way worse than me. Despite that, I am still very grateful for my health and success. Even there, it took everything in my power to not write minimal success. Self-derogatory to the core!
That critic is always there. Especially when combined with comparison. Comparing yourself to other successful individuals is easy, but gives steroids to the inner critic:
“You aren’t as good as them.”
“I’m sure THEY didn’t skip a week of training.”
or the most recent, “Look how awesome that person’s streams are.”
This is an incredibly tough habit to break. Competition can be a powerful driver towards improvement, but the only person I should compete against is me. Be better than yesterday.
This mindset came into being through a recent preparation for my first Spartan Race with my Personal Trainer. For those unaware, a Spartan Race is an endurance obstacle course race. They start at the Spartan Sprint at 3.1 miles, and go all the way up to the Ultra at 31 miles. This was the Sprint in Boca Raton.
That race was one of the hardest physical challenges I’ve ever done. And I loved EVERY SECOND of it. Dirt and mud covered my body on the hottest day in all of April, and every fiber in my being told me to stop. My goal was just to finish as best as I could, but I did better than that. I finished in the top 45% and completed 19/22 obstacles.
I was good enough.
Challenge Equals Growth
“Challenge yourself; it’s the only path which leads to growth”
Morgan Freeman
The Spartan race was not the only challenge undertaken in 2024 so far. This one was far less physically challenging, but way more mental. A rare job promotion became available, which I applied for and…received! This position requires a ton of knowledge and responsibility; a major step up from the previous position. Preparing took weeks and weeks of studying and mental practice to prepare. Talk about going back to school!
But growing in this life requires a challenge; as simple as that. Except, it’s not simple at all. Growing up, there’s no way I could have seen myself become an established professional in a respected field. Also, there’s no universe that I could have predicted running a 5k, and now I’ve run TWO in five months. One of them a Spartan.
I was good enough.
Life is Tough
Despite these accomplishments that I am incredibly proud of, my evil critic still has the last laugh sometimes. A failure to train for a day/week, or not having the mental health to stream, or making a work mistake amplifies a basic human error molehill into a mountain of incompetence. Negativity is a poison on the body and mind, but life is hard and it happens.
This past year has been a challenge. Overused idiom be damned, but I learned to remember to see the forest for the trees. When I’m in the trenches, fighting tooth and nail for goals, I cannot forget to breathe and appreciate the progress. Look backwards and see how far you’ve come. Trust yourself to know what’s best.
I was good enough, and so are you!