In the first book I ever wrote, the main characters had a rule for themselves as they navigated a death-defying competition.

“Always choose the path of most resistance.”

The idea in the story is that the easy way out is where you naturally feel compelled to go. But the more difficult route is often the one worth taking. Especially if against all the odds, with your back against the wall, it works out.

That’s where growth occurs. That’s where learning happens. That’s where you achieve something special that others could only dare to dream of. Like the characters in my book, this is the way I live my life.

For whatever reason, I’ve always chosen the path of most resistance. I’ve always made life more difficult for myself. Especially through my intense passion for the things that I care about. I live life in the fast lane, on the fly a rocket ship to space kind of “full blast”. When I feel passionate about achieving something, I will stop at just about nothing to make that ambition a reality.

This is a scary way to live. It’s scary to constantly throw yourself into the deep end. Sometimes it’s impulsive. Sometimes it means you do things you probably shouldn’t do.

But it’s the way I want to live my life to get the outcomes that I want in life. Sometimes finding that balance is difficult. Knowing what is “too far”. Knowing what is “crossing the line”.

That’s why I was always injured in high school. I made it my mission to stop at nothing. To be one of Ontario’s finest young athletes. I went “too far”, and ended up ruining my high school running career instead.

I did the same thing in breaking my own heart in the most devastating moment of my life – when I left ‘The Blue’ for an atmosphere that on every level should have been better for my career. I cared so much about making a difference in the lives of everyone at ‘The Blue’, that I felt distraught over the fact that it might not be reciprocated. I felt so distraught, that I left.

That was a valuable lesson. My drive and determination to accomplish what I want won’t always work out in my favour. In fact, sometimes it will bite me in the foot.

I don’t really care. Because living life on full blast, in the fast lane, and stopping at just about nothing to achieve what I want in life is more important to me. Because there will always be other avenues that I can take my life if something fails. Because failure is never really failure. It only opens doors for new success stories. Because there will always be more to life than just that one thing I’m fighting for.

So even if it’s always more difficult this way, I want to live a life full of challenge. Full of something to work toward. If I didn’t have anything to work toward, life would simply be less fun. I choose to live life on full blast, and I always choose the path of most resistance. Sometimes it gets me nowhere. Sometimes it gets me everywhere. For that, choosing the path of most resistance will always be worth it.