Monday, May 20, 2013

IT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU...


...IT'S HOW YOU HANDLE IT

Stuff happens. Good stuff and bad stuff. It’s unavoidable. And when the bad stuff happens it’s hard not to feel sorry for yourself and have a little “pity party”. But after the “party” is over, what do you do? I believe that’s when you really find out what you’re made of. 

A friend of mine lost her husband very young. It was a tragedy. But her courage and positive attitude was amazing. She accepted every social invitation she received, she volunteered for several worthwhile charities, and she lived life to the fullest. One day when I asked her how she stayed so positive and cheerful in the face of such a devastating blow, she confided in me that she gives herself some time every morning to grieve when she first wakes up, then she dries her tears and gets on with her day.

Compare that to another acquaintance with a similar tragedy who never got on with her life. She spent years basking in her misery. She retold the sadness of her life to everyone who would listen and she found less and less people willing to listen to her as time went on. Today she is a sad, lonely woman who lives in the past.

The exact same thing happened to both women, but their futures were 180 degrees different. One found a way to deal with her grief and find happiness and fulfillment again, the other chose not to move past her tragedy. They both had the choice to make and their choices dictated their futures.

We all have the same choice to make every day when the bad stuff happens. For example: you don’t get the promotion you were hoping for. You can act out your frustration, becoming less effective and less personable at the office (making you even more likely to be passed over for another promotion) or you can look at the reasons you might not have been chosen and work toward making yourself more valuable so when the next opportunity comes along you will be ready.

Even with small things. Say someone cuts you off in traffic on your way to work. You can get mad, honk your horn, pound on the steering wheel and let that frustration simmer so that you get to work, snap at your coworkers and have a miserable day. Or you can blow it off. Either way, you got cut off, but in the first example you let it affect your whole day (and possibly your health). In the second, you have only a moment of frustration and then your day goes back to being pleasant.

I know, easier said than done. But when you look unemotionally at the issue and the outcome you want, doesn’t it make sense to make the choice that leads to happiness? 

Monday, May 13, 2013

To attract positive things in your life, 
start by giving off positive energy.

Monday, May 6, 2013