Fortitude Check

Fortitude:  Courage in pain or adversity.

Fortitude is like building a fort around your attitude and then defending that fort with everything you've got.  As long as your attitude remains intact, no matter what is going on in the world around you, you can endure any pain or adversity.  Here are five questions to consider about your fortitude:

1. What price are you willing to pay to overcome the challenges in your life?
2. Is there anything you can do today to strengthen your fort?
3. What can you do to avoid raising the white flag of surrender?
4. Do you have anyone you can call on when your courage is slipping?
5. What will your life be like if you are able to have enough courage to survive your pain or adversity?

Our youngest son is a great example of what fortitude is.  He hurt his shoulder in one of his last football games of the season.  When faced with the choice to sit out his wrestling season or work through the pain, he told me it would be more painful to sit on the sidelines.  His physical therapist suggested he wrap the shoulder prior to his matches.  He replied, "when my opponents see the shoulder wrap they will attack my weakness."

This morning he recounted a story about Dan Gable, one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.  "When Dan Gable hurt his knee, he wrapped the healthy knee before his match to trick his opponent and beat him," he told my wife.  I won't be surprised if our son starts wrapping healthy body parts before entering the arena.  The young man is not going to let anyone pin him down.  How about you?  Got fortitude?