Words of Wisdom from Shaun White, King of Snowboarders

While at work today, I stumbled accross an old ESPN magazine with Shaun White on the cover. When I flipped to the article about him, I found this profound piece of wisdom:

"You have to be honest with yourself. If I can visualize a trick, I go for it. When guys have doubts, that's when they get injured. Managing fear is about living within your boundaries...To me, it's simple. If you really want to do something, you can figure it out. If you hurt your hand and have to write with the other, you figure it out. You adapt. I am a big fan of doing what you are really bad at. A lot."
-Shaun White "It's a Wonderful, Horrible Feeling", ESPN Magazine


I don't know what Shaun's religious beliefs are, if any, so hopefully I wont offend him by putting a spiritual spin on his words. I find that fear and doubts really are the emotions that injure us the most. They strip from us hope and passion and fervor. This will inevitably lead to depression and misery and then to illness, mental and physical. The scriptures warn us over and over not to fear, for truly there is no need to fear when our trust is in the Lord.

President James E. Faust once said, "I learned the lesson that life’s burdens don’t seem to be so great if we don’t allow ourselves to get paralyzed into a stupor of inactivity by our sorrow and pain. As children of our Heavenly Father, we should learn to be happy, to trust in Him, and to not be afraid...Remember, the Lord has said, “The very hairs of your head are all numbered” unto the Father. “Fear ye not therefore” (Matt. 10:30–31). He knows us, He loves us, and He knows our needs. He will comfort us if we will only trust in Him and His goodness and wisdom.

"There are many things that we cannot change. We all have difficulties and disappointments. But often these turn out to be opportunities. The Lord can measure how strong we are by how we handle these difficulties in our lives. As the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7).

"Sometimes the Lord allows us to have trials to shape us into productive servants. In our desire to achieve, we often fail to see that the Lord is trying to prune us away from false pride and vain ambition so He can teach us discipleship. His all-seeing eye is over us and ever watching us as our Eternal Heavenly Parent. When trials come, as surely they will to all of us during mortality, let us not sink into the abyss of self-pity but remember who is at the helm, that He is there to guide us through all the storms of life."

(James E. Faust, “Be Not Afraid,” Ensign, Oct 2002, 2–6)

I know that the times when I have put my whole trust in the Lord, everything has worked together for my good... despite the particulars of what I was going through. And still, most often I forget this truth and find myself doubting and fearing, but there is no need, for with faith in the Savior, all is well. All is well.