Many of you know that my life’s aspiration is to write. I have ideas for novels, non-fiction works, self-help/-actualization books, and even academic texts. But perhaps my secret joy comes from a graphic novel idea I’ve been working on since I was a girl.

I have a vision for a super-heroine unlike any before. She’s a mix of some of my favorite characters. With brains, beauty and brawn, she kicks ass and takes names but no prisoners.

One of her many arch-nemeses is a man who, like most arch-nemeses, was a friend to her in pre-superhero days. His weapon of choice – a true punisher; a hammerhead machete.

What the _______(fill in your own blank), right? (It’s what I thought when the idea occurred to me).

Well,how can I put this…imagine a sledgehammer (think Thor, not Black & Decker) attached to a chain with a machete on the other end.

And how exactly does such a weapon work? The hammer is meant to distract our hero more so than injure her. A blow from such a weapon would throw anyone a little off their game. It not only hurts, but it’s an anchor – a pathway – for the REAL culprit…the machete.

The machete is no distraction, it’s the death dealer. Once the hammer lands (whether on target or not) the chain can be used to guide the machete in for the impale.

Can you imagine, getting struck by a hammer, being knocked off your feet and just as you’re about to get back in the fight…you feel it, that slice to your throat or your back, or maybe from your navel to your neck? You thought you were in the game only to learn…game over.

Well, believe it or not you’ve been there. Perhaps that final blow wasn’t a literal death dealer, but it may have killed a relationship, a job, or an opportunity.

All too often in life we endure circumstances that throw us off our game. We become so engulfed in the hammerhead – the distraction – we don’t even see the death dealer coming up behind us!

How many times have things been going right in your life, I mean really starting to come together, only to have it all jeopardized by something seemingly simple? Yet, when you set out to rectify that little faux pas, suddenly all else fails.

Would you like to know why…because you’re doing it wrong! I’m only half-joking.

You’re focused on the distraction instead of the fight itself. You’ve allowed yourself to be knocked off-stance. If you’re going to have half a chance you’ve got to get back on your square (you martial artists know what I’m talking about).

When you get hit, that is NOT the time to catch your breath. That is NOT the time to hesitate. THAT is when you bob and weave, stick and move! You had a strategy when you came into this fight (hopefully), and so did your opponent Life (without a doubt).

You have to multi-task because as you’re getting up from that blow you’ll need to reevaluate and self-assess. You have to determine if the original plan is still effective or if you’ll have to modify your approach.

Is it best to just block for now and wait out your opponent, or do you need to go on the offensive right away?

Don’t be fooled, the fact that you’re in the fight is a testament that you’ve already done SOMETHING right…now you’ve got to keep going. Now, it’s HOW you fight that determines whether you’re going to live to fight another day.

So, get your battle gear ready, get your game face on, and prepare to be distracted from what you’re really supposed to be doing.

Don’t think just because you’re down that the fight is over. Instead, take a quick purview – get to know the lay of the land – and be like a ninja, putting your surroundings and resources to work for you. Consider the jujitsu technique of making your opponent’s force work against him!

In short, don’t allow life’s distractions to become your focus. Acknowledge them and address them for what they are – temporary obstacles, setbacks and inconveniences that often don’t even merit the attention we give them.

So the next time life hands you lemons, take that damn machete away cut those sucker’s in half and squirt life right in the eye. It’ll give you time to catch your breath and do some damage of your own.

Here’s to hoping you kick ass and take names but not prisoners! =_=