My Life Is.....

What is your life? 

You life is not what happens to you it’s, how you respond to what happens to you. Life happens to all of us.  Some recover and get back on track and some just let life’s whims take over. 

Here’s life:

GREAT

I’m good looking

I’m thin

I’m smart

I’m popular

I’ve a great job

I make a lot of money

I have an expensive sports car

I have a condo in the best neighborhood with a great view

I take expensive wonderful vacations

I know a lot of people who want to be me

AWFUL

I’m almost ugly

I’m overweight

I had poor grades in school and never went to college

I don’t have any friends

I’m in a dead end boring job

My car is an old clunker I’m embarrassed of

My apartment is a third floor walk up

My vacation is a ‘staycation’

Nobody wants to be me

A TRAGEDY

My parents died at a young age

My significant other has a life threatening disease

I’m disabled

I need an operation

My employer went bankrupt

I did not get a college degree when I had the chance

My expenses exceed my income

Fire burnt my house down

My car was stolen

Guess what? Your life is what you make of it!

Yes, you make your life. You envision it, and you live to the vision. When the vision is not working due to external situations, it’s up to you as to how you react to the situation and get back on course, back to the life you envision. 

Remember the positive little boy on Christmas morning that found a pile of sh—? He knew that meant there was a pony close by for him!

We are as good looking as we believe we are. We can work with the body given us and improve it, or we can let it go. Looks are subjective as is what the correct weight is.  All of the items above can be good or bad. If bad, there  can be good, if they spur you to action. 

Often the awful, unthinkable things that happen to us are messages and may well become an inspiration to change. We may well look back on those events years later and realize the positive change they made in our lives. 

Why do some people, people who are unremarkable to you, become so successful? Because they think they can, they ‘fake it’ until they make it.  Remember, if they can do it, you can do it. 

OFF COURSE

My course changed abruptly. 

We flew to Vail - Beaver Creek for a week of skiing. While we stayed at Beaver Creek I mentioned I’d like to spend  two days at Vail. 

Guess why I was able to spend two days at Vail? 

It ended up that my two days at Vail were spent there as a a patient in the hospital. The extent of my skiing was watching the skiers from my hospital window. I would have never guessed I’d end up in the hospital. I never guessed my first day of skiing, a great day, was going to be my last day of great skiing. 

I was released the night before my flight back to RI and I am fine. No worries. While I could not ski, I was able to make use of the time for other priorities. Sure, I was not happy to give up the skiing, but I was happy to eliminate the pain, recover, and work on other projects while in the hospital. 

Too many people do not plan the course of their lives, just going where the wind takes them, or where the family wants them. Yet, most people spend more time planning a vacation than planning their lives. So, a vacation that gets off course is a big deal, a catastrophe. No, it’s not a catastrophe, it’s life. 

We are like boats at sea. We are always being knocked off course, and we are always adjusting back to course. That’s life.  It’s how we handle what it thrown at us. It’s how we get back on course that counts. 

Think about your life and what has thrown you off course, or what could have thrown you off course. For example:

Not being accepted at the school/college of your choice

Flunking out of school/college

Your significant  other terminating your relationship

Not being hired for the job you desire

Being fired from your job

Being demoted

Not being promoted

employer tranfers

not earning the money you need to enjoy the lifestyle you desire

Having to move to an area you do not enjoy

Medical issues

illness

physical limitations

divorce

death

Family issues, spouse, parents, kids 

There are many things that can easily throw us off course. It’s in your reaction, the handling of the issue that creates the difference. 

React as positive as possible. If you are one of the ones who believes everything happens for a purpose, think about the purpose, and then move forward. If you do not believe things happen for a purpose, you can still react as positively as possible. 

Reflect on what has thrown you off course in the past that, at the time, seemed tragic. Yet, looking back you saw the value, the opportunity offered and the benefit of being thrown off course. Sometimes being thrown off course has created a better, more rewarding, course for your life.