The Art of Not Blinking: Why Ukraine’s Fight is My Own

Who are you most inspired by?

The Choice to Stay

I have answered prompts similar to this over the last few years, but that is par for the course when you are on a 1,000+ day consecutive blogging streak. If I am being honest, my answer remains the same: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He is the one world leader who has consistently inspired me over this stretch of time.

The story of Zelenskyy’s ascent is unique—a TV actor playing a teacher who accidentally becomes president, then finding himself in the middle of a real-world catastrophe. But my respect isn’t based on his acting; it’s based on his choice. Zelenskyy could have fled. He could have been a “president in exile,” making speeches from a safe distance, and I don’t know if anyone would have faulted him for it. He could have easily argued that he was leaving to better advocate for his country on the global stage.

Instead, he stayed. He didn’t have to, and he was, and is, putting his life in actual danger every single day by remaining in Ukraine.

The Grit of a Nation

I think that makes him a “knight” in every sense of the word. There is a line in The Italian Job remake that says, “You don’t fuck with mothers-in-law, Mother Nature, and motherf*cking Ukrainians.”

There has always been a perception that Ukrainians are tough, hard-ass people, but the war has proven it to the world. I see Ukrainians on social media daily, documenting the count: “It’s day [X]… We are still not Russian. We are Ukrainian.”

If I could ask Zelenskyy a question, it would be: “How do you do it? How do you remain so steadfast, and are there moments when you lose faith?” Facing the overwhelming odds of the Russian army—a force that dwarfs his own—is a psychological weight I can barely fathom.

A Perspective on Our Own Backyard

That steadfastness is what inspires me. They are getting bombed, their territory is being occupied, and thousands of their children have been stolen and separated from their culture, likely never to see their parents again. Most people would break under that pressure. But they keep coming back for more.

As an American, it is hard to truly grasp this. We haven’t had a foreign war fought on our soil since 1812. Even the Civil War was Americans fighting Americans. There is a scene in The Sopranos where a Russian character reminds Tony’s crew that Americans have no idea what it is like to have a war fought in their backyards, in the streets of their cities. We remember 9/11 as a catastrophic, horrible day—and it was—but it was one day. We have no frame of reference for living in a constant combat zone.

Choosing My Own Fight

If the Ukrainian people can remain committed to their sovereignty day after day, then I can certainly get up every morning. I can teach, I can take care of my kids, I can work, and I can keep putting words on this ‘rinky-dink’ blog. The ‘struggles’ of my daily life are insignificant compared to an entire nation fighting for its collective life, freedom, and sovereignty. If they can fight for their existence, I can certainly fight for my own growth. This is not to say that I equate my life to the war in Ukraine—far from it. But the sheer determination of the Ukrainian people inspires me every single day.

Slava Ukraini!

Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.

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AI art created by Google Gemin

The article “The Art of Not Blinking: Why Ukraine’s Fight is My Own” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob

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