Coming from a big family of 5 sisters and 2 brothers every sibling becomes something of best friends as the years go on. One of my biggest supporters and best friend since I can remember has always been my older sister Clare. She has been the sister that has always given it to me straight. Being six years older than I am she has always been able to give me the reality of life and the different roads one could take “adventures” on. During my years and years of addiction Clare stood by my side, trying as hard as she could to steer my in the right direction. When it finally came time when I was ready to ask for help, Clare was the first person I talked to about it.

Now I spend just about every day talking about things that used to happen. Things that happened while I was using or making bad decisions. I think that today I will tell you about my life now. The challenges that I face and the things that I am ultimately passionate about.

The funny thing about challenges and things that I am passionate about is that they both go hand in hand. I love challenging myself. I work well under pressure and I love the feeling of accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal. I am utterly passionate about conquering challenges. This latest challenge that I am contemplating conquering came about recently in a casual conversation between myself and my sister Clare. She told me that she was going to do the Iron Man and that I should do it with her…

Now, I don’t work out. I have been athletic in the past but I have definitely not worked out in the past three or four years. The Iron Man is the race of all races. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. Why on earth would I want to do something like that?!?!?!?!?!

Because I know that I can. Creating challenges in my life is something that I live for. The feeling of fulfilling a goal or taking on a challenge is like nothing else in the entire world. This is a challenge that I know I can take on. It may seem impossible now but with the right amount of effort anybody can do anything.

This is so different for a person like me. The challenges that I faced in the past were once that I created for myself, from bad situations and bad decisions that I was making in my everyday life. Now, living a sober and honest life I am able to create challenges for myself that are positive, things that will better me physically, mentally and spiritually. Living a life that is mundane and boring is not something I am capable of doing. Instead of filling my life with negative barriers or boring monotonous activities I am now able to challenge myself with things that will bring me to a new level in my life.

* Keep livin’ the dream, be excellent to each other *

Patrick