The 'Brave Choice' That Ended My Kitchen Floor Breakdown

The cold of the kitchen tile was the only thing that felt real.

It was a Sunday night, November 12th, 2023. There was no single trigger, no final straw. It was the crushing weight of everything at once. A sudden, devastating heartbreak had shattered my world, and I was lost. Confused, hopeless, abandoned, and worst of all, I felt completely and utterly invisible.

My body felt like it was melting. It was the only way I can describe it—like a caterpillar dissolving into liquid inside a cocoon. A complete loss of myself. A pain and sorrow that, to this day, I still can’t fully put into words. It started as a sob, then a desperate heave for air, then a relentless, absolute wail that I’m sure my entire apartment building could hear.

Lying there on the floor, I finally said the words I’d been fighting for weeks.

“God, I can’t do this on my own. I surrender. I need you, because I can’t do this alone. I have no idea what to do and I need your help.”

That was rock bottom. It was also the beginning of everything.

Before that night, I was a shell of myself. I’d wake up groggy from another night of barely sleeping, my mind racing. I’d coach my clients, go through the motions of my own workout, and spend the rest of the day in a fog of non-stop thinking. I’d look in the mirror and barely recognize the man staring back. My entire life, my entire future, had been flipped on its head.

I’m not a husband or a father yet, but those are the biggest dreams of my life. To marry a woman I’m deeply in love with and raise beautiful children is the most incredible gift I believe I can give to the world. And in my clearer moments, I knew this pain wasn't just for pain's sake. It was forging me into the man I needed to become to be the best husband and father I could be—a man who could end the toxic cycles from past generations.

But knowing that and feeling it are two different things. And on that kitchen floor, all I felt was the pain.

The morning after the breakdown, I woke up and made my first Brave Choice. It wasn’t a workout. It wasn’t throwing out junk food.

It was opening the Bible.

I read 1 Kings, Chapter 3, where Solomon asks God not for riches, but for a discerning heart. I don’t believe in coincidence; I know I read that passage for a divine reason. It gave me a flicker of confidence—the courage to just try to do my best, every single day, even if that meant just getting 1% better.

That was a Brave Choice because it was my chance to finally do what I’d been avoiding my entire life: facing myself. For years, I was a people-pleaser. I sought validation from others for my own sense of worth. I hid who I truly was for fear of being judged. This pain was an opportunity to search within, discover my true self, and finally step into my authenticity.

I remembered a quote from David Goggins: “Who’s gonna carry the fucking boats?”

I was. I was going to carry the boats. There was no other option. I could not quit on myself, my family, or on God. I finally understood that I was sent a mission disguised as a burden.

That one choice started a chain reaction. I began stacking Brave Choices. I developed a non-negotiable morning routine: cold shower, breathwork, Bible, book, journal, coffee. This gave me structure. It allowed me to build self-belief by keeping the promises I made to myself.

I also learned to handle setbacks with grace. In the past, if I missed a workout, I’d berate myself. This time, I made a new brave choice: I forgave myself. I accepted that I wasn’t perfect, and I saw the next workout as simply another opportunity to make a choice that aligned with the man I was becoming.

Slowly, things began to change. My energy improved. I started to feel like myself again—the authentic Acusio.

The physical transformation followed the internal one. Over 12 months, I lost 10 pounds and dropped 8% body fat, going from 22% down to 14%. For the first time in my life, I had visible abs.

But the real change was in the mirror. When I look in the mirror now, I love who I see. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, I’m proud of the man looking back. He’s the version of me I always knew was possible but was never sure could actually exist. I still struggle. I still have my days. But every day, I know I’m growing in my alignment with my purpose.

If you're reading this, maybe you're having your own 'kitchen floor' moment. Maybe it's not about heartbreak. Maybe it's the reflection in the mirror, the feeling of being winded playing with your kids, or the 3 AM thought that you're meant for more than this.

I want you to know that I believe in you. But more importantly, I want you to know that the story of your life is simply the collection of choices you make. Transformation isn't about perfection; it's about making one brave choice, and then another.

My first brave choice was reading a single passage in the Bible.

Your first brave choice is deciding that enough is enough.

Your second brave choice is to take action on that decision.

Your moment is now. Take the Brave Choices Assessment and let's find out what you're truly capable of.