I am delighted to introduce Martin Hughes as today’s guest author. A UPS driver and marathon runner, Martin has lived with Type 1 diabetes for nearly 30 years. Despite his demanding career, he is training for his 31st marathon and nearing his fundraising goal for diabetes advocacy. His ethos is simple yet powerful: “Start strong, but finish stronger.” Martin’s post offers a compelling look at resilience in the face of life’s toughest challenges. Prepare to be inspired.
What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever faced? I’m guessing it’s something you never would have chosen for yourself. Maybe it’s managing a chronic illness or struggling through a job loss. Maybe it’s watching a loved one suffer or die.
I’ve had to deal with all of these, and more besides. But I know I’m not the only one, and I know that others have had to contend with far harder things.
I also know that these challenges haven’t beaten me. Life is difficult, but it’s not impossible.
I see overcoming adversity as an opportunity not only to build resilience but also to observe it in action. If it’s true that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, it’s just as true that you don’t die because you’re already strong enough.
Perhaps that’s why I keep choosing to do hard things, even when my life is already plenty hard. Challenges help show me just what I’m capable of. Plus, they help increase my capacity so I can face whatever hardships await me in the future.
And they do await me. I have lived with Type 1 diabetes for almost 30 years now. Being diabetic makes getting older that much more complicated and perilous. Eye problems, heart problems, kidney problems, nerve problems, thyroid problems. The road ahead passes through what feels like a minefield.
Thankfully my body hasn’t completely betrayed me yet. Even though I like to keep pushing my limits.
At age 48 I started a new career as a UPS driver. Every day of work is a test of endurance. Just the other day I punched out after more than fourteen hours on the clock. Fifty- to sixty-hour workweeks are not at all uncommon for me.
Still, I’ve found a way to keep training for marathons. Over the past fifteen years I’ve run 30 marathons in 27 states. Currently I’m training for the New York City Marathon this November.
In case running 26.2 miles as a diabetic wasn’t challenge enough, I’ve taken on the added challenge of raising $3,500 for education, advocacy, and the pathway to cures for BEYOND TYPE 1, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization founded in 2015 to change what it means to live with diabetes. So far, I’ve raised more than 80% of my goal.
I face all of these challenges – my diabetes, my job, my running, my fundraising – with the same mindset: start strong, but finish stronger.
What does this mean in practical terms?
- It means staying focused in the present moment.
- It means being patient with myself.
- It means reminding myself of what’s true about me, regardless of my circumstances.
- It means continuing to move forward, however slowly or fitfully.
- It means drawing strength from those around me.
- It means never giving up, no matter what.
We often don’t choose the hard things we face, but maybe we choose hard things often enough to remember that we still do have choices – starting with how we respond to the hard things we don’t choose.
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More Guest Authors:
Roque Neto 