“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” ~ Carol Burnett
Life sucks.
Lost your wife, lost your home, lost your pets, lost your car. Whatever it is, it was yours and now it’s not.
Yep, life sucks. May as well write a country song…
Now, get your head out of your ass and listen up.
Life does not suck, not by a long shot. Life is just life. It’s nothing personal, it’s not some magic force acting to take away your happiness. The good, the bad and the ugly things in life are simply what make up life, and you can either suck it up or let yourself get sucked down into the pit.
Excuses are easy, taking responsibility is hard. Not saying that everything bad sprung from a decision you made – those curve balls come at our heads sometimes despite our best efforts – but you are responsible for how you react to those challenges. Whether you face them head-on with grace or resentment (lawd, the angry, self-justifying memes that fly around these days…), or stick your head in the sand, whine, complain… whatever… you are responsible for THAT.
It’s your choice. It’s all your choice.
Look, I know that some days are rough, I really do. We all believe that we want to have that perfect life where everything goes our way and the sun is always shining. Thankfully, that dull-as-dirt existence isn’t in the cards for anyone living outside of a five-and-dime drugstore novella.
Adversity breeds courage, self-confidence and self-reliance. Sure, some people allow adversity to crush them but that’s not you. You’re not going to let it bring you down and keep you down, because you’re better than that. You’re stronger than that. You will overcome. You will prosper. You will learn and you will grow. You will let go of those things that hurt you and you will forgive.
Gandhi said “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong” and he was right. Only the strong take the steps to heal their wounds and grow stronger. They recognise that anger, spite, resentment and hate are nothing more than anchors that keep you rooted in place. The strong cut those chains and sail free, they sail forward. It is the weak that allow themselves to be mired down by the negatives, always dragging along those bindings that keep them chained to the past.
But you are not weak. Life does not suck.
However, your outlook just might.
Think about it…
(And then go back and read Sticktoitiveness. Really, just do it…)
