Life throws us challenges constantly. Some challenges provide ant hills to get over while others present mountains to conquer. I want to share a quick story about a man that’s faced an enormous mountain for decades and the lessons I’ve learned as an observer.

Over 20 years ago, something became very different in this man’s body. An active father, successful businessman started to see drastic changes in his ability to move. Fast forward to multiple doctor visits, tests, seeing specialist after specialist, the news dropped like a hammer on him and his family. It’s a rare muscle disease called Stiff Person Syndrome.

Over two decades ago, there was little to no understanding of this disease. What was known is a walker and cane would be by his side every time he moved somewhere. Muscle spasms that hindered his movement would become normal. Waking up in the morning and getting to work would be a huge effort. Treatments, doctor visits, and medication to test to see what works would become standard.

Take a moment to pause. Many of us reading this are relatively able-bodied people. We have the luxury of getting around effectively and actively live our lives. What if you had to face a huge hurdle each morning to get to work? What if you had to rely on a walker to go anywhere around town? Think of the impact on what we often take for granted.

As the past 20+ years have progressed, the mountain has continued to grow. Unfair circumstances continue to be presented. Regardless of the mountain, this man, along with his wife of over 40 years, continues to move forward. Long days at the hospital receiving treatment, rough mornings getting the body to move, alarms to take medication, and the list continues. The sacrifices and discipline of what it takes to keep climbing this mountain to continue moving forward living life.

It would be easy to miss family milestones like weddings, graduations, grandkid celebrations. But with discipline of staying focused on moving forward, regardless of the mountain, this man continues to do everything he can to show up and be the supporting father and grandfather he strives to be. It’s certainly far from easy. It also takes an extremely hard-working and patient wife. But a firsthand experience of seeing what it takes for this man to continue to face this mountain has taught me two extremely valuable lessons:

1. It’s not about what challenges come into our lives, it’s the way we react to these challenges and carry out the priorities we have in life that matter the most. Life is not meant to be fair and if we channel the energy from “why me” to moving forward through life’s challenges, we put all our time and energy into something great for the future.
2. Discipline is critical on the path to success. Staying diligent to what you know you need to accomplish each day and working to instill daily habits of success over time builds strong discipline. It will be a constant battle and discipline will never have a finish line. Instead, it’s going out each day and doing your best to carry out those daily habits you know you need for success.

This man that has demonstrated these two extremely valuable lessons, among many more, I’m proud to call Dad. I understand this disease can be such a heavy toll on his body and mind, but I’m blessed to be able to see my parents continue to take on life’s challenges and move forward enjoying the blessings all around us.

Take your step: pause the next time you face a challenge and push yourself to focus that energy normally put on “why me” instead into moving forward through the obstacle. Focus not on why life presents its unfair moments but instead on the blessing you have the strength to move forward and face these challenges.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! Drop below in the comments your favorite lessons learned from your Dad.