Comments on: Poll: Would You Change “It” If You Could?

By: Josh Hanagarne

Josh Hanagarne — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:01:10 +0000

Devon, there are lots of things, but you’ll need to ask me some questions. I can’t go out and see what’s on every other website, than type of everything but:)

By: Devon Perkins

Devon Perkins — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:32:45 +0000

Hello I am doing a report on tourettes in biology and wanted to know if there was anything you could tell me that any other website doesn’t?

By: Sunday Backtrack: Would You Change It If You Could? | World's Strongest Librarian

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:04:21 +0000

[...] Would you change it if you could? [...]

By: Josh Hanagarne

Josh Hanagarne — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:54:51 +0000

Oleg, great points all around. I, sick man that I am, do enjoy the sweating, burning exhaustion, and also the strength afterwards. But I’m a junkie.

By: Oleg Mokhov

Oleg Mokhov — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:52:27 +0000

“Self improvement is masturbation. Now self destruction, that’s progress.” -Tyler Durden, Fight Club

Hey Josh,

Personal growth happens through struggles, not pleasure. You grow and become more conscious during tough moments, not relaxing under the sun.

The “It” isn’t pleasurable, but the result afterwards is what’s awesome.

When you work out, you don’t enjoy sweating, burning, exhaustion. But the boosted strength afterwards is sweet, and why you keep working out.

I’ve had very difficult people in my life who were close to me, and during those times I wished they were completely different – or that I didn’t even know them. But what I noticed later in life is that they were like training for me to grow as a person and get better at relationships with others.

I had shortcomings of my own (temper, closed-mindedness, no patience), and being thrust into those situations turbo-boosted my working on them. Like an intense bootcamp on self and relationship building. I now appreciate having those difficulties earlier, because it let me grow and become a better person faster.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Tourette’s, and how you actually appreciate it for the personal growth it gave you,
Oleg
Oleg

By: Josh Hanagarne

Josh Hanagarne — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:50:35 +0000

Mary007. Thanks for the response. If you’ll start wearing miniskirts, I will too as a show of solidarity.

By: Mary007

Mary007 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:35:52 +0000

Josh,
This post hit the heart. I read the post a couple a days ago and I was too emotional to post anything. I was about 15 years old when dark spots (like bruises) started to show up on my legs (from my knees to feet) and on my arms. The doctos that I saw had never seen anything like it and after multiple blood test and medication (that never worked), I gave up and stopped visiting doctors. I have not visited a doctor in maybe 9 years at least not for this problem. I don’t even have a name for this “disease” but it has something to do with white blood cells. I have not worn shorts, short skirts and dresses in 10+ years for this same reason. Even though I’ve lived with this condition for such a long time I still struggle with it almost everyday. As a woman it has signifficantly affected my self esteem and my life overall. If I could would I change this? Honestly, YES! I feel that If I didn’t have this, I wouldn’t have the self esteem issues that I have now and my life would be a lot better, I wouldn’t be so shy to socialize and best of all I could wear shorts, skirts and dresses especially during my fave time of year summer. Now don’t get me wrong…I’m grateful to have legs and the ability to walk and run. But we live in a country where body and beauty are glorified…

By: Beth L. Gainer

Beth L. Gainer — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:15:21 +0000

Yes, “asinine” is a pretty good word. One of my favorites is a less useful word like “epinephrine.” It’s so rhythmical, it just bounces off the tongue!

Thanks again for starting a thoughtful forum.

By: Stephanie Smith

Stephanie Smith — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:51:26 +0000

Josh,
You are a blessing. This question stopped me in my tracks. It was a very tough one to answer because I have been through many tough times, many of the toughest all occured during a 2 year period: divorce, bankruptcy, loss of job, and being convicted of indecent exposure, even though I was in my back yard.
Would I change it? Prison is no joke and I was ill prepared for how to cope, never having been in trouble with the law, but I survived. Some of my dreams were shattered, but I got back up. Life went on. If I had not gone through all of that, I would not be married to the wonderful man I am lucky enough to call my husband.
So, long story short, I would not change it because even though I will always carry this label, my mantra has become that even though I did not go where I intended, I ended up where I needed to be.
Funny how many of us would not change the most heart wrenching of circumstances. Survivors know that we are who we are because of what we went through. I shall cease this rambling, but you always deserve a comment when you have provoked such intense introspection.