Marshall Ramsey

I tend to complain about things I have no control over. I’m not naturally positive — I have to work at it. And some days I don’t work hard enough.

The current drought is pissing me off. I refuse to water because, well, I hate dumping money on my lawn. But this drought has gotten severe — to the point even trees are dying. The Reservoir is down and if anyone who is reading this knows what Yazoo Clay is, you know your house is probably doing a dance right now, too. I’m mad as hell and can’t do a thing about it. Last time I checked, I’m not in charge of making it rain.

I was fussing about it the other day and my wife, a woman who I respect, looks at me and says, “Quit complaining. You can’t make it rain but you can put out the sprinklers.”

She’s right. Yeah, I’m going to have to spend some money. But I can control the things I can control.

Boy it sure is easy to get overwhelmed these days. Watch the news and you’ll see what I mean. You have so many things to worry about. I know. I’ve seen my job do somersaults. Add to it the challenge of raising upstanding kids and worrying about ill parents — well, you get it. Life’s not a cake walk. It’s not even a Little Debbie walk.

So, I look in the mirror and make the changes I can make. I put out the sprinklers instead of complaining about no rain.

And the world around me is greener for it.

Make a difference by being a bright light in a dark world.

Tough times require tough people.

You must be tough mentally, physically and emotionally. And you can’t allow others to manipulate your feelings and steal your joy. They have agendas and fears. Don’t play their game — you’ll lose every time.

Self-discipline, even when the world seems like it is falling down around you, is the boat that will carry you through the storm. Don’t depend on others to understand, care or support you. But do understand, care and support them. That’s what will give you strength. Pay your blessings forward. Because it’s not about what you receive –– it’s about what you give. The Universe will return the love back to you.

Train your brain, your lungs and your heart. You’ll need all three to be strong. Read good books. Learn to breath deeply and methodically. Stretch and exercise. Build a seawall to protect you from life’s storms.

It’s true the world doesn’t owe you a thing — but you can give so much back to it. Light your inner flame and be the bright spot in a dark time.

When you are strong, negative people shrivel like a salted slug.

Be strong. Be tough. The world needs you.

I sat this morning and talked with a good friend about bad times. We both have a plateful of challenges; the discussion was a cathartic experience for both of us.

Look around. Everyone around you has trouble in their lives. As they say, the only people who don’t have problems are in the graveyard. It’s what you do with the challenges that makes the difference. Do you whine about them? Do you face them head-on like a mariner would a storm?

I choose to allow my problems to change me for the better. Stones don’t become smooth in calm waters. I also promise to find joy and pay it forward.

I can only control what I can control. And my attitude is right at the top of the list.

It’s all about smooth stones.

I feel a certain pride in this field. It’s where I bust my butt every morning.

The Endurance Run is one of my favorite things we do at my PLS bootcamp. It’s 50+ minutes of perpetual motion. You start with quick-three foot ladders laid out over 100 yards down the football field. Then you go back down the field doing high knees, crab walks and hopscotch. Then you go back up the field shuffling through dummies, then bear crawling for 20 yards. Then you sprint forward and backwards through a zig-zag of cones to the end zone. When you’re done on the field, you run the stairs of the stadium. When finished, you run past the stadium and do 20 pushups. Now this is where is got interesting: We then ran the loop road around Madison Central High School (we only did it once). I don’t know how far it was but it was probably 3/4 of a mile at least. We then reentered the stadium and lifted 25 lb. plates over our heads and in front of us. We then ran to a set of hand weights and did 20 jumping jacks. We then did a lap on the track (1/4 miles), stopping once to do 10 burpees. Then we started it all over again.

There is no stopping. There is no resting. I completed it three times.

It was a perfect metaphor for today. I taught my class, wrote four ideas, drew one of them, taped a radio interview and then went to a photo shoot for the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. I also returned several phone calls and sent some invoices. I’m about about to head to my son’s soccer game.

There is no stopping. There is no resting. I’m still trying to complete it.

One thing I learned when running a marathon is that you have to learn how to rest while you are moving. There are those moments — like when you are headed downhill — when you can allow your heart rate to lower a bit. Today, after my radio interview, I went outside and sat down on the curb of the radio station and made some calls. It was the first chance I had today to catch my breath. I took several deep breaths and felt a moment of peace.

Today’s Endurance Run was tough but excellent training for what I had ahead of me. Sometimes life is like that. You just have to learn how rest on the fly.

I’m just thankful I didn’t puke.