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Source: Tracy Korn
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Why tri? Well. That's a long story...

My grandmother used to tell me that the definition of stupidity was doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

I think I was stupid for a very long time.

Can't say exactly how it happened, but there were warning signs. Looking back, I've concluded that it always started out so benign. Comfortable. Accomplished. Settled and ready to start on a lifetime of 9-5 and Thursday night primetime.

But now I know better. Being too comfortable is a cancer that left untreated eats away at momentum and drive. It spreads to every bit of gumption and passion, and from the inside strangles any sort of appreciation for the simple fact of being alive. Because of this in the late stages, life must somehow become incrementally bigger and better in order to even register on the daily scales of a given lifetime.

The most commonly attempted treatments for this cancer apathy are temporary - there are only so many big-screen Band-aids, fad-diets and registrations for tropical-trip giveaways upon which one can be maintained before it's all just too late.

Before confidence wanes and interest fades, before weight is gained, before hoping like hell for someone to come in with a miracle fix. Before desperation prescribes buying the books and getting hooked on their gimmicks. Before going through all of this only to discover that in the end one is still the same, and that nothing will ever really change like this.

No, I've found that the only true cure for comfort-induced apathy cancer is being uncomfortable. Just slightly so at first, administered in small, radiating doses.

One has to commit to the treatment, and be willing to endure the temporary pain and discomfort in order to eradicate the lackluster from this happened upon life's path. A few steps out of the comfort zone. A little sweat. A little commitment. Some faith on a bet with the odds in one's favor.

And with time, some you take, some you give, as one grows stronger the discomfort subsides, the apathy cancer dissipates, and people not only survive... they live.

Tracy Korn
Tracy is a language assistance program coordinator and English teacher at an alternative high school for at risk students in the Midwest. She is currently training for Ironman Wisconsin, 2007. Contact information: tracy@throughth3wall.com.