I don’t run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run towards it because the only way to esape fear is to trample it beneath your foot. When I was growing up, I had the biggest crush on Nadia Comaneci. Nadia was the Romanian Gymnast in the 1976 Olympics that stunned the world with her uneven parallel bar performance. She was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10. Well, I was about 18 at the time and I just thought she was cute! I was amazed at what she could do. She was amazing, and she was cute.

She, like many top tier athletes don't run from challenges. They embrace the challenges and as Nadia said, they run toward them. That is what makes them exceptional athletes. When most of us would give up, would whine and complain, they get out and try to find the way to win.

How do you handle your challenges? What do you do to overcome the obstacles and struggles you have to go through? Do you give up? Do you stop trying to achieve your goals?

Are you a winner or a whiner? I remember when I started my martial arts training in Ninjutsu, we had a T-Shirt you could get that said, "There is no H in Winning!"

Don't whine about the circumstances. Don't complain about what you can't change. Find what you can do and start doing it.

If you have a goal that you want to achieve. Something that you want to be or do, figure out what it is that you are going to have to do to achieve the goal. That's exactly what I mean when I say do. Achieving your goal requires action. It requires you to do something.

My goal this year is to get to 185 pounds. I have certain tasks that I must do to achieve that goal. I can't just sit around watching TV, surfing the web, eating crappy foods. I have to take the action steps needed to burn the calories or eliminate the intake of calories to be able to lose the weight. I have to be smart about it and eat the right foods. That doesn't mean just lettuce and veggies. There are proteins and fats I have to eat. There are certain foods that I should avoid eating.

There are tasks that I must do to burn calories. We could call it exercise, but that sounds like work. Find something that requires movement that you love to do. If you like to walk, walk. If you like to dance, dance. If you like to play softball, football, soccer, tennis, then go out as often as you can and play.

Do you remember being a kid and your friends came over and asked if you wanted to come out and play. I used to run out of the house, down the street go hang out in the woods, climb trees, ride bikes, for miles. This wasn't exercise. This was play. This was fun. Go find something you find fun and active and do it.

If you have a goal, and you have struggles or challenges, run toward them. Fix them, fight them, beat them. Do what it takes to overcome those obstacles, those challenges; just don't run from them. Face the fears, fight the urge to quit and keep moving forward.