Never say never…

I came home last Tuesday evening and there it was. Our driveway. Lit. Not lit as on fire – municipally lit! Yes, for 20 years, our streetlight just stood there, purely for decoration purposes. No life. No meaning. And just like that, it worked!

The pavement glowed like it had been waiting its whole life for this moment. The driveway stood a little straighter. Even the gate looked proud – like it had something to do with this miracle. The sidewalk had this soft, romantic glow – with the green grass illuminated – and the trees standing quietly in the warmth, as if night itself decided to be kinder. I paused. And stared. And I smilingly thought to myself, “Never say never.”

It’s funny how such a small thing can feel like a big win. A quiet victory. A reminder that even the things we stopped hoping for can still surprise us.

And then, the other thing I was so sure would never happen, punched our family right in the face. My sister, Adéle, was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome …My 50-year-old baby sister – strong, capable, busy and living her life – could not walk, among other symptoms. Overnight.

I suddenly realised how naïve we are when we think, “That would never happen to us.” As if life checks our confidence before handing out challenges. As if love somehow makes us exempt.

It doesn’t.

Life has a way of saying: “You thought this would never happen …and yet here we are.”

Never say never …Gregory Titelman’s – “America’s Popular Proverbs and Sayings”- says that the earliest reference to “never say never” is in Charles Dickens’ first novel, “The Pickwick Papers”, which was published in 1836.

My mom always used to say: “You are only allowed to use never in three sentences: Never judge a book by its cover, never count your chickens before they hatch, and never make the same mistake twice …”

The thing is, we often say “never” as protection. Never, so we don’t hope too much. Never, so we don’t fear too much. Never, so we don’t have to imagine the unthinkable.

Last Monday morning Michelle and I talked about the way our minds are wired to think negatively, and how it’s up to us to challenge our thought patterns – with daily positive affirmations and uplifting conversations with ourselves. Because, in life and fitness, the loudest nevers often come from our own tired minds.

In our studio I hear it almost daily: “I’ll never be that strong.” “I’ll never be consistent.” “I’ll never get back to where I was.” And yet – bodies surprise us. They adapt. They fight. They remember. They heal in ways science explains …and in ways it still can’t.

We have seen Adéle fight back bravely the past few weeks, exercising, working with therapists, daily, climbing her way out of the severe neurological illness. Little by little. Her neurologist calls her recovery process so far, a miracle …

This also made me think of Justin Bieber’s 2011 documentary. It’s called “Never say never”, as his story was full of “this will never work” moments: A teenage boy from a small town in Canada. A YouTube kid with a dream far bigger than his circumstances. Bieber had no famous family connections. Everyone told him it would never work. He was told many times that he was too young, too small, too inexperienced.

And yet, one day, there he was – performing at Madison Square Garden. Lights blazing. Proof that sometimes the word never doesn’t know what it’s talking about.

Of course, life isn’t a movie. And healing isn’t a montage. And not every story wraps up neatly in 90 minutes. But hope? Hope works quietly. Like a streetlight coming on when you’ve stopped checking. Like a body responding when doctors say, “Let’s rather take it day by day.”

Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the best basketball player of all time, once said: “Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”

So, I have decided to remind myself not to say “never” anymore. Not about trivial things. Not about big ones. Not about light, health, or the human spirit. And not about hope.

Because these past few weeks have taught me that the moment you’re pretty sure something will never happen …That’s often when it does. And sometimes, against all odds, the light comes back on. If illness can arrive without warning, then so can recovery. If bodies can surprise us by failing, they can also surprise us by healing. Slowly. Quietly. Bravely.

Guillain-Barré didn’t knock us out. It woke us up – to fragility. To gratitude. To the fact that love doesn’t disappear when things stop working.  It shows up harder.

Never is a dangerous word, and miracles have a way of arriving where certainty once lived. The professional life coach, Brittany Burgunder, recently said: “Don’t say “never”, say “not yet”. Some of the most amazing things in life happen unexpectedly.”

Maybe never isn’t a full stop. Maybe it’s just a pause we use when we’re scared. If a twenty-year-old streetlight can suddenly shine …If a body can fight battles we never imagined …

Then maybe you can show up today, even when you don’t believe in the outcome yet. Because strength and struggle can exist at the same time. Being strong doesn’t mean being untouched. It means continuing despite what you’re carrying.

Don’t say never. Say “not yet”. Say “I’m still here”. Say “let’s see”.

Because life has a funny way of turning the lights on when we least expect it.

Just like that streetlight. Just like the human body.

Just like life.

Yours in fitness

Mirna
082 779 0507