Kick Butt Tip: Giving Up Is NOT An Option

Today's awesome Kick Butt Tip of the Day comes from a young lady that knows a whole lot about success in her chosen field of Gymnastics. Her name is Gabby Douglas and you may remember Gabby from the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Millions of us were glued to our television sets when the U.S. Ladies Gymnastics team competed and for good reason. Gabby and her teammates were beyond awesome on the balance beam and in the floor exercises.

From Gabby Douglas: “Every champion was once a contender that didn’t give up.”

In examining Olympic Gold records from the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, you may remember that Gabby outworked all of her competitors and took home an incredible three Gold medals.

Many sports experts will agree that the hardest sport of them all is Gymnastics. Just think about it. You must have speed, great balance and agility plus tremendous hand/eye coordination and you must be strong.

Given the fact that many that enter the world of gymnastics start a grueling training program at a very young age, I would imagine that the coaching team constantly has to reinforce a positive mental mindset and emphasize to the members of the team that quitting is not an option.

You may have heard someone say, quitters don't win and winners don't quit. Those words are worth printing and taping to your bathroom mirror.

I think you and I can both agree that none of us are immune to the idea of throwing in the towel from time to time. Life gets tough sometimes but as singer Billy Ocean said in 1986 "When the Going Gets Tough the Tough Get Going."

Remember two things: quitting is not an option and God don't make no junk. You are awesome, now go be awesome!

- Don Chase's Kick Butt Tip of the Day is a daily motivational feature designed to give you the inspiration you need to power through your day. Check out all the Kick Butt Tips here.

The life of a country music star is fast-paced, and often, country music sings about drinking and drowning your sorrows. Hitting the road and living a constant party can lead to country music stars doing some serious drinking. In 2022, Lady A's Charles Kelley canceled a tour to get sober and later wrote a song ("As far As I Could") about his journey.

Charles said in a statement when he released the song, "For me, the biggest word I've been holding onto is gratitude, not pride. I'm grateful. I finally see the light and am connecting with what life is all about. Some days are hard, but the good outweighs those bad moments. There's some beauty in all this, and I've had time to reflect, time to get healthy, time to write. I've probably written 50 songs this fall, and I feel like all of it was leading to this one song."

The song was co-written and produced with Lady A bandmates Dave Haywood and Jimmy Robbins. The ballad captures an inner conflict experienced by many, mixing sadness and serenity as Kelley recounts the steps along his path – both good and bad.

Lady A bandmates Haywood and Hillary Scott even considered putting their stamp on "As Far As You Could." They ultimately changed their minds. Dave Haywood said, "We were almost afraid that if we put a bunch of vocals on it, that might take away from the pain and authenticity of that singular vocal." Kelley added, "Hillary especially felt it was important for me to tell my story, kind of the same way she was able to do with 'Thy Will.' With their blessing, I'm putting this out, but it will live right alongside everything else we do."

We look at five country music superstars who have either put the bottle down or never drank at all.

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Even though he scored a big hit in 2009 with a song called "Alcohol," it's a little-known fact that Brad has never been a drinker. Even though he can mix you a drink in his Nashville "Yellow House," which he uses for making music, he has never touched the stuff.

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Lady A postponed their tour in 2022 for bandmate Charles Kelley to have a "journey to sobriety." Since then, Kelley co-wrote and recorded a solo song about his journey called "As Far As I Could." The lyrics sing in part, "You gave me the courage the night I met my wife / You helped me make her laugh 'til you helped me make her cry / You started out a friend turned into somethin' else / Now I like who I am with you sittin' on the shelf."

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Shania told Entertainment Weekly in 2002 that she doesn't drink simply because she has never been "interested" in alcohol. She said at the time, "I've never had a drinking problem and never drank when I worked."

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In 2013, he told People, "I don't drink at all. It's not a part of my life anymore." Tim told Esquire in 2021, "I remember a moment when I was getting out of bed and going to the liquor cabinet and taking a big shot at eight in the morning and thinking, I have to wake the kids up."

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Keith, who went to rehab shortly after he married Nicole Kidman in 2006, told the U.K. Times in April 2022, "I've nothing against drugs or alcohol. Everyone does what they want to do to have a great time. I just realized I'm allergic to it. Someone said, 'You have an allergy? What happens when you drink?' And I said, 'I break out in cuffs.'"