Playing the hand you’re dealt

All we can do, WAG fitness guru Giovanni Roselli writes, is focus on what we can control.

“Sometimes you need to talk with a 3 year old so you can understand life again.” 

– Unknown

It is hard to believe that I am already in year three of fatherhood, as I write my annual WAG article chronicling my journey to beat the dubious Dad Bod.  Needless to say this has been a year like no other, and the remainder of the year continues to be filled with the unknown. 

My precious baby girl has become a little person already.  She is verbal and already has a caring personality.  Every few months I say to myself, “This is the best right now. There is no way it can get any better than this.”  And then lo and behold she’ll say something or do something even more extraordinary and cute, and then that’s the new best. 

At times throughout these last several months it has been challenging to keep her occupied, as you can imagine.  One thing is for sure;  She’s definitely gotten plenty of daddy time. 

When the going get tough

When situations get tough, here’s one piece of common advice that I’ve grown to hear over the years from some very successful businesses, managers and colleagues: Focus on what you can control. 

We’ve all heard it before.  Sounds simple enough too, right? And let’s face it, there is a lot out there right now out of our control.  Add in hypersensitivity at all time highs, with doctors/psychologists talking about how this pandemic creates emotional/mental issues. With still no end in sight, it is easy to lose track, focus and motivation.

What can you focus on?

When it comes to my daughter, Juliet Rose, and our famil,y here are a few things I know I can control:

• How we treat each other;

• How we speak to each other; 

• How we can make the best out of each day; 

• How to manage the extra time that we’ve all been given;    

• How I can manage my personal time; and

• How we can manage our family time.    

Going from year two to year three, I feel like it has still come down to time management. Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden often used to say, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Now more than ever, it is important to have some type of plan and schedule for the day, as opposed to just aimlessly going through another day with no direction and no productivity. 

Play out the hand

When someone asks me how I’m doing through all of this, my usual response has been, “playing the hand I’ve been dealt, just like everyone else.”  I’ve used this expression a lot over the years and it resonates with me in so many ways.  Some days, weeks, months or even years, we are dealt a bad or mediocre hand.  In life, you have to play out that hand and do the best you can with it.  A good player knows how to play with weak cards, just as someone can get a good hand and blow it.

Over these last few months I have gotten to projects that I’ve been meaning to get to, taken education courses that I wouldn’t have normally been exposed to, learned new health and wellness techniques that I can utilize with both myself and my clients — all while having daily quality time with my daughter. 

One day Juliet will look back on these times and learn about it in school and through all other means.  In a way maybe it’s best that she is at an age where she doesn’t really fully understand what’s going on and every day is still a carefree day of play time and fun.  Sometimes ignorance is truly bliss.  It does make me sad when she asks me every week about our weekly trips to the library, the carousel and gymnastics and why we can’t go. 

All I can continue to do is focus on what I can control and play the hand I’ve been dealt.  With that being said, another Dad Bod-less year is in the books.     

Wishing everyone health and safety now and for the future.    

Reach Giovanni on Twitter @GiovanniRoselli and at his website, GiovanniRoselli.com.

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