Blind Can You Can

Tag: meditation

  • From Missed Flights to Pokémon Cards: How a Mindset Shift Saved the Day

    From Missed Flights to Pokémon Cards: How a Mindset Shift Saved the Day

    Thank you, Southwest, for giving me a day worth blogging about.

    Today was one of those days—the kind where you’re late, stuck in traffic, and know you’re not going to make your flight no matter how fast your driver goes. Cue the stress.

    Frantically, I called customer service. But the moment the rep answered, I could tell this was not going to end in my favor. Her tone was negative, dismissive, and far from helpful. To be fair, I wasn’t exactly bringing my best energy either—I was frustrated and overwhelmed. The rep kept repeating phrases like “There’s nothing I can do,” “Why do you want a supervisor?” and “It’ll be the same at the airport.” It felt like a dead-end conversation.

    And yep—after 30 minutes, nothing got resolved. We both walked away irritated.

    But then… I had a window of 10–15 minutes before reaching the airport. In that time, I did something radical: I practiced what I preach. I calmed down, accepted the situation, and decided to be open to whatever outcome came next.

    When I arrived at the Southwest counter, I approached it with a new mindset. I explained that I was blind, had called a week earlier to confirm my itinerary, and that a miscommunication had led to me missing my flight. This time, the representative was kind, understanding, and proactive. He noticed I was an A-List member, researched solutions on his own, and ultimately helped me rebook my flight for the next day—at no extra cost.

    But that wasn’t even the best part.

    He looked at me and said, “Hey, at least you get one more day with your son before he goes to his mom’s for a month.” That hit me. Hard. I was so focused on what went wrong that I nearly missed what was going right.

    So, my son and I made the most of that bonus day.

    We hit the nearby mall, stumbled upon a new anime store (with a grand opening raffle, no less!), scored some Pokémon cards and prizes, ate at the Rainforest Café for the first time, and even snagged a new pair of Skechers thanks to my parents.

    What started as a stressful, ruined day ended up being one of the most unexpectedly awesome days we’ve had in a while. All because I changed my mindset.

    The lesson?

    ✔️ Accept the situation.
    ✔️ Let go of what went wrong.
    ✔️ Stay open to creative solutions.
    ✔️ Remember: setbacks can be setups for better moments.

    We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can absolutely control how we respond. You can either be a slave to the problem—or the creator of a better outcome.

    Today, I chose the latter. And it came with a side of Pokémon and ice cream.

    The image is a square, Instagram-friendly graphic with a clean and modern look. Here's a breakdown of its design: Background: Soft off-white with a subtle texture that resembles high-quality paper. Text: Bold, black, sans-serif font centered in the image. The message reads: "Thank you, Southwest, for giving me a day worth blogging about" Border: A thin, dark gray line with rounded corners neatly frames the text, giving it a polished and professional appearance. Style: Minimalist and neutral—perfect for social media inspiration posts. It evokes gratitude and positivity, with a calm, thoughtful tone.
    A heartfelt expression of gratitude towards Southwest Airlines for an unexpectedly memorable day.

  • Don’t Be a Slave to the Outcome: Your Journey Is the Real Win

    Let’s just say it—“slave” isn’t the most politically correct word, but I’m using it here to drive home a critical point: if your entire self-worth depends on the outcome, you’re giving away your power.

    We’ve all been there.

    You study hard and still fail the test.
    You prep for an interview and still don’t get the job.
    You pour your soul into a business or project and end up losing money.
    You eat healthy, follow doctor’s orders, take your meds… and still don’t get better.

    Yeah, it sucks. It really does. But here’s what we often forget—you still gained something. Something meaningful. Something that can’t always be measured by the final result.

    In our society, we celebrate the winners—NBA champs, Oscar winners, viral success stories. But nobody cheers for the long nights, the quiet failures, or the invisible grit it took to even show up.

    And yet, that’s where the real success lies—in the process.

    Now, this isn’t a message about accepting mediocrity. No, not at all. This is about not letting failure define you. It’s about realizing that setbacks are setups for comebacks.

    You always have a choice: let it crush you or let it build you.

    “Wait, do I choose to be sick? Poor? Disabled?”
    No, of course not. Some things, like my own hereditary blindness, are out of our control. What is in our control is how we let it shape us.

    You can let the hardship destroy you—or you can let it empower you.

    Even trauma, as heavy as it is, doesn’t get the final say unless we allow it to. That may be hard to hear, but your mindset is the deciding factor in whether your past becomes a prison or a platform.

    You’re alive today. That means you’ve been given another shot—to grow, to learn, to move forward.

    So don’t let a single outcome define your entire story. Don’t give one moment that much power. Success isn’t always instant, but it’s always brewing when you keep showing up.

    You may not win this year. You may not land the dream job or break free from your limitation today. But every step, every failure, every lesson—it all compounds.

    Each setback brings wisdom. Each lesson brings strength. And with every milestone, the path to happiness gets a little shorter.

    So celebrate the process.
    Refuse to be a slave to the outcome.
    And remember: the journey is the win.

    Because you’re not defined by the outcome.
    You’re defined by your decision to keep going.

    And that’s power.

  • Baby Steps, Big Wins: Tackling Life One Tiny Task at a Time

    “Baby steps.” I never truly understood what that meant—until I got older.

    And no, I’m not talking about the adorable wobbly first steps your toddler takes (though those are pretty awesome). I’m talking about the small, manageable steps we need to take as adults—to complete tasks, overcome obstacles, or chase our goals. The stuff that actually moves us forward in life.

    Like Brian Tracy says in his book Eat That Frog:

    “You eat the frog one bite at a time.”

    As a kid, that concept flew right over my head. For me, it was always all or nothing: either you do something or you don’t. That mindset led to a lot of procrastination—because if I wasn’t ready, confident, or in the mood to do something, I just… didn’t.

    But here’s the plot twist: those feelings never go away.
    Fear. Doubt. Overwhelm. They follow you into adulthood, and the stakes just get higher. Missed bills, growing debt, neglected health, relationships on edge—it’s no longer about not doing your homework. Now it’s about not losing control of your life.

    When Small Tasks Become Big Monsters

    Maybe you’ve been there:

    • You avoid paying bills because you’re low on funds and stressed about money.
    • You ignore car maintenance because you’re too busy—and now you’re stuck on the freeway.
    • You keep putting off healthy habits, and suddenly you’re looking at serious health issues (plus a mountain of medical bills).

    It’s like one small delay becomes a snowball of chaos. Before you know it, that tiny frog you were supposed to eat turns into a Godzilla-sized monster ready to swallow you whole.

    But here’s the thing: monsters shrink when you take a baby step.

    Even Laundry Can Teach You This

    Let’s take the universally hated chore of laundry.
    Most people don’t hate laundry because of laundry. They hate it because they’re thinking about a week’s worth, the whole family’s, 20 loads stacked high. It’s overwhelming.

    But what if you zoomed in?

    • Just toss one shirt into the hamper.
    • Put one load into the washer.
    • Dry one load.
    • Fold one shirt at a time.

    Maybe spread the folding throughout the day. Or heck, fold while watching your favorite show. (Yes, I know you don’t have time for that either—but you probably scroll TikTok, so…)

    Sure, this might sound silly or extreme. You might be thinking, “I can’t break everything down like this!”

    But what if you could? What if breaking things into baby steps is the trick your brain needs to stop catastrophizing and just start?

    Everything feels impossible when viewed as a mountain. But up close, it’s just one step at a time.
    Just like how they say to picture the audience in their underwear when you’re nervous about public speaking—it’s about changing your perspective.

    • That overwhelming debt? Start with one phone call.
    • That fitness goal? Start with a walk around the block.
    • That unfinished project? Start by opening the doc.

    Once you take that first bite, that first step, you’ll feel momentum kick in. And that momentum? It’s powerful. It’s how you win.

    Your mind can empower you or sabotage you. It can blow things out of proportion or break them down into bite-sized, conquerable tasks.

    So ask yourself:
    Do you want to cross the finish line?
    If the answer is yes, then start walking—even if it’s in baby steps.

    Because progress is still progress, no matter how slow.
    And one day, you’ll look back and realize…
    you climbed the whole mountain.

  • Clash of Mindsets: What the 2025 NBA Finals Taught Us About Resilience, Leadership, and Showing Up

    The NBA Playoffs just wrapped up, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are your 2025 NBA Champions!

    I’ll be the first to admit—I wasn’t always a sports guy. Growing up with poor vision and about as much coordination as a one-legged giraffe on roller skates, I avoided anything involving a ball, a field, or a scoreboard. But now that I’m older, I’ve come to love the lessons baked into sports—especially the mental ones.

    Sports are mindset on display.
    Every game is a battle of discipline, determination, resilience, and focus. That’s what drew me in. And this year’s playoffs? They were a masterclass.

    🏀 A Tale of Two Teams, One Mentality

    In the Finals, we watched the Indiana Pacers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder—two teams that proved you don’t need to be the oldest, richest, or flashiest to compete at the highest level. You just need heart, grit, and a refusal to give up.

    The Pacers were warriors. They battled their way through the playoffs, never letting the odds shake their focus. Tyrese Haliburton, their star guard, played through injury to force a Game 7. And even after suffering a brutal Achilles tear in the first quarter, his team fought valiantly to the final buzzer. Haliburton, on crutches, stayed courtside—still leading, still cheering, still believing. He didn’t retreat to the locker room. He showed up, even when he physically couldn’t.

    And then there’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the heart and soul of the Thunder.

    All season long, SGA delivered MVP-caliber performances. But what stood out even more than his stats was his consistency. Game after game, playoff series after playoff series, he brought the same fire, leadership, and calm under pressure. His presence didn’t just lift his own game—it elevated the entire team. The Thunder, one of the youngest squads in the league, leaned on Shai’s poise and star power to push through every obstacle. His leadership turned potential into a championship.

    Both teams were loaded with talent. But what brought them to the Finals—and kept them battling until the end—was mindset.

    • The Pacers showed us grit and loyalty.
    • The Thunder showed us resilience and consistency.
    • Tyrese Haliburton showed us courage in the face of injury.
    • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showed us what greatness looks like when you lead with calm, confidence, and class.

    We often think success—whether in sports or life—goes to the strongest, fastest, richest, or smartest. But the truth is, it often goes to the one who keeps showing up.
    Not just when it’s easy. But when it’s painful, inconvenient, uncertain.

    Here’s the truth: Life is going to give you injuries. Detours. Game 7s.
    But that doesn’t mean you stop playing. You adapt. You pivot. You lead in the ways you still can.

    You may not be able to dunk like Shai or run the court like Tyrese—but you have your own game to win. You have people counting on you. You have a version of yourself that deserves to be seen, supported, and believed in.

    So take a page from the 2025 NBA Finals playbook:

    • Be consistent, not just intense.
    • Lead, even when you’re limping.
    • Keep showing up. Especially when it’s hard.
    • Believe that you were made for this fight—and more than capable of winning it.

    Because if they can, you can.

  • Jiu-Jitsu and the Art of Acceptance: Why Acknowledging the Bad Position Is the First Step to Winning

    It was promotion day at my jiu-jitsu gym this weekend, and as always, it reminded me why I love this sport so much.

    I know I’ve mentioned it before, but jiu-jitsu continues to teach me valuable mental lessons—on and off the mat. One of my favorites, and the one I find myself blogging about most often, is acceptance. Not the kind that means giving up, but the kind that grounds you in the present and gives you the power to move forward.

    Let me be clear: when I talk about acceptance, I don’t mean admitting defeat. I mean having the courage to acknowledge your current reality—without sugarcoating it, running from it, or pretending it’s something it’s not.

    In jiu-jitsu, especially as a lower belt like me, you often find yourself in bad positions. Side control. Mount. Your back taken. You name it. These aren’t moments you can ignore or say, “I’ll deal with this later.” The reality is: you’re stuck—and stuck now.

    But here’s where the lesson comes in:
    You have to accept the position before you can escape it.

    If I deny that I’m in a bad spot, I’ll get submitted. Plain and simple. But if I acknowledge the position, I can defend, I can adjust, I can survive—and maybe even reverse it.

    Life works the same way.

    We all find ourselves in tough positions. Financial stress, relationship struggles, mental health battles, or—for me—living with blindness. Every day, I have to accept the fact that I can’t see. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up. It means I’m starting from truth, not illusion.

    And that’s the most solid foundation to build from.

    With acceptance, I can analyze my situation honestly. I can figure out what my strengths are, where I’m weak, and how to move strategically. Without it? I’m just flailing around, wasting energy, getting choked out by reality.

    One of my training partners said something that stuck with me:

    “Face the problem. If you turn your back on it, it’ll only get worse. Ignore it, and you’ll get submitted.”

    That hit hard—not just in sparring, but in life. When we ignore our problems or deny our circumstances, we stay stuck. We give our challenges the power to control us. But when we accept where we are, we can start to move—slowly, surely, and with intention.

    So let me say it one more time for the people in the back:
    Acceptance is not defeat. It’s awareness. It’s honesty. It’s the beginning of strength.

    Pretending things are fine doesn’t make them better. But acknowledging the truth? That gives you the power to change it.

    In jiu-jitsu, that means surviving the round. In life, it means breaking through—one breath, one move, one mindset shift at a time.

    With a little acceptance and a whole lot of determination, I truly believe you can overcome any position—on the mat or in life.