My wife tells me I bored you too much with talk of football (soccer). She might be right, but when the boot fits, wear it, right?!?

Yesterday was a huge game for my beloved Arsenal. We played the behemoth that is Manchester City. CIty is owned by Sheikh Mansour. Among other things he leads the United Arab Emirates. He also has obscene amounts of money to throw around. There have been numerous articles and investigations into the shadier side of his business dealings and it is widely held that his activity in the sports world is part of the “sports washing” movement of several nefarious groups who are looking to bolster their public image through the world of sport. (I highly recommend that you research LIV Golf, the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar for more background on this phenomenon.) Anyhow, with the infusion of all that oil money, City have become the most dominant team on the planet. There are about 120 charges that have been brought against them for dishonest business practices (aka cheating). We (Arsenal) have lost to them 12 straight games. In those games the aggregate score over that span is something like 35-6. It’s a real David v Goliath deal!

But yesterday we played them and finally found our stone and sling. We slew the giant. I am not going to say that it wasn’t nerve-wracking. It was stressful as all get out. But after all those humiliating loses we made it. And the joy was fantastic.

For the day.

Now it’s on to the next game.

And there you have your tie-in. Recovery can be a series of agonizing defeats. For years we might get pummeled by the giants in our lives. But if we never face them, we won’t win. Sometimes you have to take a beat down (or 12…) before you get to punch the bully in the mouth.

But punching your addictions in the mouth is not the end of the fight. Sure, it feels nice to finally be on the right side of the win column, but there is always another fight. The enemy seeks to destroy us, and he doesn’t need a spotless record, he just needs to get in his shots every now and again. We need to fight not just the good fight, but we need to do it again and again and again.

Right now we are on top of the Premiere League Table, but we are only 1/4 of the way through the season. Keep your focus, and never cease to…

–Rise Up!!