When I was a teenager, I walked a lot. I recently calculated that I walked 3 miles every night. Two laps around the neighborhood I grew up. That was a minimum. Some nights it was closer to 6. It was peaceful and quiet. I would shove my Sony Walkman anti skip discman into my pocket with whatever CD I was currently listening to on repeat and just make the rounds. Rain, snow, hot, cold. Didn’t matter. It was an escape for me during a childhood that wasn’t the best a lot of times.

In the middle of July of 2025, I started walking again. Little walks here and there became daily walks. I then pushed myself to start doing two miles minimum. I began upping my water intake. I was inspired by one of my best friends and ow 75 Hard partner, Jessica who was in the middle of trying to complete her first full run of 75 Hard. She inspired the fuck out of me. I even started drinking a gallon of water to see how hard it was and to put myself into the mindset she was doing daily.

When she finished 75 Hard she challenged me to do it too. So on August 15^th, I started my first round of 75 Hard. I had watched Jessica and all of her struggles and I had a good idea of the ones I’d face. My goal was simple. I was going to challenge myself to do 75 Hard and mark a checklist off of doing something good for myself. Prioritizing myself is something iam… let’s just say… not good at.

Something I wasn’t expecting happened toward the end of my 75 Hard journey. I had a drive to do it again. I loved the rhythm, the structure, and the challenge that it gave me. October 28^th hit and so did day 75. I celebrated. But my mind was already on planning round two and starting it again. I had my diet figured out and was ready to go. This time was going to be harder. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s were on the horizon. So was what is literally the busiest time of the year for me at work. Lastly, seasonal depression is a real thing for me, and some the hardest moments of my life have happened during the holiday months. It was a perfect storm to create a situation where failure was a real possibility.

I didn’t fail.

I didn’t succeed at some of the personal goals I quietly made myself but I didn’t fail. I dropped below 300lbs for the first time in almost 20 years, but would up back at 300. But I didn’t fail. I dealt with the death of a family member, on the anniversary of my mother’s passing, while trying to support my oldest’s accomplishment’s in college. But I didn’t fail.

I’ve had a lot of discussion about old me versus current me in how I have been dealing with the challenges that come into my life. Old me would have thrown in the towel eearly into round two. There were a couple days it crossed my mind. Old me would have just accepted that this is the life I have and the hand I’m dealt with and oh well what can I do. Today me, is not old me. Every day I strive to be better than the day before. In the past I didn’t care. Today I do.

75 Hard Round 2 is completed. Round 3 is in a handful of days, and I’m already planning on finally tackling Phase 1 once I complete it. We can talk about that another day. Today, I’m going to sit and take the time to be proud of the changes I’ve made to myself, and the drive I have to keep making myself a better person.