DON'T WATCH FROM THE SIDELINE

By Mohan Karulkar: Sometimes, when you mess up, you need to sit out for awhile. Maybe it's to heal your mind or body, maybe it's to make peace with others, or maybe it's to gather your courage back up. No matter the situation, you should always be eyeing your comeback.

No, things won't be the same. Maybe worse, maybe better, definitely different. And over time, your comeback will become the new normal, and that's a good thing. You aren't meant to live on the sideline, no matter what the darker part of your heart may be telling you. You were meant to rise again, and turn setback into triumph.

Patrick Ahearn is an awesome example of this. A high school track star, he lost part of a leg while boating last August, and his running days looked numbered. His comeback story is one of pain, determination, and a little help from his friends. It's a story we've heard before, and it's always heartwarming.

But there's more to it than that. The hard truth for Patrick is that with a running prosthetic, he can't run as well as he used to. Maybe he will one day, but for now, his former records are a long way off. But instead of focusing on his old records, he is creating new ones, marked by the time since his accident. And he seems more than content to do so, which is an awesome lesson to all of us about the nature of a true comeback.

To quote the story:

Ahearn said the best part of his day was running again with his team and "not watching everything from the sidelines."

And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Not coming back and being better than before, but just coming back, and not being resigned to be a spectator.

Stop being a spectator because of your past mistakes. Define a new reality, even if it looks different than before. We're standing with you, and we believe in the comeback.  You never know where it'll lead ... just ask Tiger.

What's your comeback story? How are things different than they were before?