Never underestimate the power of a good ass kicking. Whether it be figurative or literal, a good ass kicking is good for the soul every now and then. Like immersing yourself in an ice bath or stepping into a cryo chamber it can jolt you into a better state of mind.
Very often people hit a stagnant point in life or, worse, spiral downward with nothing to catch them. You’re partying too much but you won’t just stop and stay home for an evening. You’re studying a major you hate but you won’t leave. You’re in a toxic relationship but you won’t break up with the person. You’re not taking the necessary actions to change your life so you keep spiraling.
This is when ass kickings enter your life. You don’t have to go look for them. Trust me, if you are on this type of path they will find you.
These ass kickings can take on various forms, both figurative and literal. Let’s expand on the examples above.
You’re partying too much and won’t hit the brakes and take it easy for a while. Your grades start to suffer, your health goes to shit, and the next thing you know you’re 40 pounds overweight and fail the course. Now you’re fat and failing school. It’s a double ass kicking.
Maybe you’re studying a major you hate which means you probably don’t give it your full effort. After a while people are going to notice. Your grades slip and now your parents are pissed. The best case scenario in this situation is that your parents pull you out of school. Yes…that’s the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that you graduate with a degree in the major you hate and then get a job you hate which leads to a life you hate.
You’re in a toxic relationship but won’t walk away. You are probably miserable every day, which rubs off on your partner and makes you both even more miserable. This only exasperates the problems and your situation gets worse. One day you come home and the closets are cleaned out and he/she is gone. That’s an ass kicking.
Or, you can be like me and get a literal ass kicking. Early on in my college career I focused most of my attention on keg stands, lighting things on fire, and getting into trouble. I was smart but I was wasting any talent I had and flushing everything down the drain.
One night I went to a frat party and decided to steal beer from the fraternity brothers. As six of them held me down and pummeled my face like a punching bag for stealing their beer I began to think with great clarity. To be specific I had three very clear thoughts: 1.) Maybe stealing that beer was a bad idea, 2.) That beer tasted good though, and 3.) Perhaps I am wasting my talent.
“I had gotten my ass kicked many times in college, but for some reason that particular beating woke me up.”
It was about the time one of them said, “Throw him down the stairs!” that I thought “Yep, there’s definitely got to be a better way.”
I had gotten my ass kicked many times in college, but for some reason that particular beating woke me up. Those fine young fraternity brothers helped to change my life when they decided to pound my face like a meat bag and literally knock some sense into me. It was after that whooping that I decided to start pursuing a path more worthy of my talents and ambitions. The very next day I made a conscious decision to change my ways. That decision was the moment I decided to change my life.
And that’s the potential power of an ass kicking. It hurts like hell but it can serve as a jolt to the system. You need to embrace it and let it wake you up.
“Use the ass kicking as the impetus to change!”
If you fail a class and gain 40 lbs because you are out boozing every night then use it as motivation. That failure and your big belly just saved you from a potentially much worse fate, like dying in a drunk driving accident or becoming an alcoholic. Use the ass kicking as the impetus to change!
If the girlfriend or boyfriend you fought with all the time broke up with you embrace it! It is simply an opportunity to find your true love. That breakup/ass kicking might hurt for a while but you need to find the good in it.
Ass kickings are a good thing. We all receive one at some point or another. But instead of crying about it you need to embrace it and find the good that comes from it. Use it as a reason to change for the better.
An ass kicking just means you were on the wrong path. Turn it around, embrace the change, and go become the ass kicker!