Being Tough, it’s more than just Muscles

Mental toughness, it’s the best kind of tough

So, we’re out of the Rugby World Cup. Again. Another loss to England. Didn’t even get to challenge the All Blacks. I did feel a sorry for the coach though. Like his methods or not, it’s been easy to see and feel his passion for the game and the players under his wing. He backed them and himself, took the loss on the chin, and then the fickle media kicked him while he was down in the press conference, angling for his resignation. Not much ‘strength’ of character shown by that bloke with his cheap shot question. Michael Cheika showed great strength and resilience. It didn’t work out for you (or our Wallabies) buddy, but your humility and determination earn you respect. Pretty much like the British media and the way they’re hammering Meghan. I’m not a monarchist, but wow, her courage runs rings around most, go girl.

Filling up at the bowser last week, I was cursing and whining that it was costing me $1.50 a litre for petrol. Not long after my ‘first world’ rant about price of the gas, I ran into a young lady I know who is wheelchair bound. She greeted me with a beaming smile, asked how things were going in my world and was happy to share a chat about her adventures too. Her condition sees her hands and grip as unsteady, but nary a complaint or frown from her as she goes about her business. I feel very lucky to know this dynamic girl, and she never fails to put a grin on my face when I bump into her. I thought about my little tanty just 20 minutes before running in to her and I was quite ashamed of myself. Sheesh, whinging about petrol. Harden up Paul. Every time I go to whinge about something trivial from now on, I’ll remember the strength of character shown by that young lady to bring me back to earth.

Is there anyone reading this column who doesn’t know someone seriously affected by the drought. I’m betting not. Now, I mean seriously affected … not just “why can’t I hose the driveway? I pay for water!” affected, but sheep and cattle dying affected, no crops growing affected, no money coming in affected. Life changing affected. Generational change affected. You don’t need me to tell you how bad it is … you know. We all know. Farmers and townsfolk further out west are showing strength greater than ever before. Buying a $20 ‘parma for a farmer’ when you’re out at the pub bistro, or kicking in some coin for the ‘buy a bale’ cause are small and easy ways we can assist our friends out west who we depend upon for our daily bread. Abiding by the water restriction rules in place is a small sacrifice we can make firstly to do our bit for the local area, but also to show some solidarity for our friends suffering a whole lot worse than we are. Strength.

In the Central West we very quickly go from “Geez, it’s bloody cold”, to “Geez it’s bloody hot”, really without thinking about it – maybe just for something to chat about. Like most of us, I’ve really got nothing to complain about. Healthy, happy and living in the ‘lucky’ country. My episode just last week whinging about petrol and then bumping into that lovely young lady was grounding and a decent wake up call for me. Hopefully I’ll think twice and show some inner strength before opening my trap to whine about something trivial.