Roll With The Punches

My whole life I have heard the term "Roll with the Punches."   Although I never really thought much about it, the way I have always heard it used is to adjust when things don't go your way.  I know I have said it plenty of times when life threw me curve balls, as simple as getting a flat tire to more monumental events in life.  I've used the expression meaning to not freak out but rather keep focused and move on.

The etymology of the phrase is boxing.  The roll is when you move when you are going to get hit to avoid absorbing the full effect of the punch.  You may be able to roll and completely avoid the punch, but if you don't, at least you can lessen the impact.  I know my trainers will now have to correct me on my definition of a "roll" because I'm sure I'm not explaining it 100% correctly. 
I, admittedly, am not always the best at "rolling with the punches" in life.   Eventually I do roll, but often I first pause.  I take time to feel my emotion(s).  I may get frustrated. I may panic.  I may take time to complain about it not being fair.  I will often cry.  And that pause causes the hit to come straight on ... with full power.  To my credit, I never fully quit, I adjust and continue on.  That is what survivors do. 
I always felt tough being a survivor... being able to take a punch and move on.  The past year I have learned that there is more inside me than surviving.  I've been introduced to a fighter.  The boxer doesn't just take the hit and move on.  S/He tries to identify the upcoming punch before it happens and rolls to minimize that impact.  I've learned to try and identify what is going to come at me and then develop a plan on how to handle it.    This is a change I am trying to make on both bigger issues in life, but also in day to day activities. 
The second part of executing a good roll is not just moving on, but coming back with a counter punch/combination that makes them pay for the attack they just attempted on you.  This is also some of the fighter I have found inside me.  There is a great lesson I have learned in not just moving on from a difficult day or situation that I didn't avoid.  Instead of just moving on when life kicks me in the ass, I strive to kick life's ass by being better than the day before I got knocked down. 
On my fitness journey, this fighter mentality has assisted me greatly.  Starting with the roll, I have begun to really identify triggers that set me off course.  I have also begun to plan how I will handle my diet when out of my normal routine, instead of using the change in plans as an excuse to have a cheat day.
But when I do take the punch (lessened impact or not), I come back swinging.  So many of my healthy routines ended because I had one bad day.  That one bad day was often something I could not forgive myself for or move on from because a cheat day was often more comfortable for me.  Now, I've learned that although I stumble, I can still win the lifelong fight I'm in.
As I continue on my path of unleashing that inner fighter inside me,  I am learning more and more about myself and how bad I want to box out of the shell I've lived in.