Stop Fooling Yourself

Like most people going through the teenage years, I often struggled to make it through the day.  There were things going on in my family life that knocked the wind out of my sails.  I spent four hours a day smashing tennis balls to block out my troubles.  At the end of the day, I retreated to my bedroom and played two Styx songs over and over on my record player.  The first, "Come Sail Away," calmed me down.  It was the second song, "Fooling Yourself," that gave me the inspiration I needed to get back on my feet.  At school, I masked my internal strife and kept a smile on my face.

One day, my wife surprised me and took me to a Styx concert.  Tears flowed when they played "Fooling Yourself."  I recalled all the times I listened to them sing, "why must you be such an angry young man when your future looks quite bright to me."  During those tumultuous teenage years, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be married to someone as special as my wife.  I never dreamed my children would bring me so much joy.  I was no longer an angry young man.

There are still times when I need a little boost and there's nothing better for me than to watch the YouTube video below and crank it up.  Listen to the lyrics and believe you can get through any situation in life, no matter how many times you get knocked down.