"I Could Never Do THAT"

It would seem that when you set your mind to it, you develop the ability to conquer your self. I think it's often a matter of priorities.

For example: long, long ago, the idea of contact lenses made me shudder. Well, not the little discs of plastic, but the idea of touching my eyeball. Then...high school. And vanity trumped my sense of revulsion. Lo and behold, touching my eyeball wasn't all that bad after all.

Diabetics prick themselves all the time...but do you really think you could give yourself shots if your health didn't depend on it?

How many parents find themselves cleaning up messes that they never sought? But the alternative (that is, NOT cleaning up those same messes) is untenable, and so people stretch themselves.

My grandfather only discovered the culinary arts after my grandmother broke her heel (the need to eat is a great motivating force).

More than one guy I know stopped smoking for the sake of a girl who wouldn't date any smoker. And one woman stopped smoking when a lung scan wasn't as clear as it should have been, because she feared not seeing her little girls grow up (thus, fear ironically conquers self for the positive).

I'm sure the Refuseniks in Soviet Russia and Rosa Parks and that guy in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square (anyone know his name?) and the rebels in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising never imagined they'd be called upon to become heroes. Yet they made history with their courage.

When the need is there, we pretty much do what we have to do. And it's often nowhere near as bad (disturbing, disgusting, distressful, etc.) as we fear (though sometimes, I guess, it's worse).

http://www.greatpicsgallery.com/images/pictures/free-mountain-climbing-and-10.jpg

For my money, I find that being able to make the decision helps; that is, taking on a challenge consciously and independently renders it more manageable than having it thrust upon you (or me) against your will. It's like tightening your stomach muscles against a punch - the punch may hurt, but you take it standing up.

What challenges have you conquered? Aren't you glad you did?