Every one of us faces some kind of challenge or obstacle in our lives. At times this past year, I think my wife and I felt like screaming, “Can we catch a break?!” Looking back at it, however, it was a wonderful year and we feel so fortunate and blessed.
Dwelling on the negative would have been an easy thing to do. My wife broke her foot on a freak accident on my daughters 5th birthday. Our kitchen island in our new home had a plumbing issue and we had to demolish and re-built it. The list continues, but the fact of the matter is that everything was resolved.
My wife’s foot healed. Our kitchen was renovated. What happened to us in the big scheme of things was nothing. It truly was no big deal at all. I know it is easier to say now than it was at the time. At certain times things seemed insurmountable.
My brother, who I consider my best friend, has always said to me “Look back at it a year from now and you will be amazed how much you have overcome”. My brother has always looked at any situation as a glass as half- full, not half- empty. He has taught me that something good will always come out of a bad situation.
When you think about it, we (humans) all try to control everything. We cannot control everything. Things are going to happen if we try to prevent them from happening or not.
Every day there is some sort of disaster. Someone dies, someone is diagnosed with cancer, someone gets divorced, and someone loses his or her job. On the flip side of that coin, every day there is a miracle. Someone is born, someone is cured of a disease, someone finds the dream job they have been searching for and someone gets married.
What is the key to success? The key is to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. If there is one thing for certain in this life it is that you will have hardships. You have to be resilient in this world.
A good friend of mine once told me the best day of his life is “every day he wakes up”. How true that statement is. Every day we are given a new opportunity. In 2014, when things get tough, just look at it as an opportunity to better yourself and learn from the hardship.
Staying Resilient in the New Year!
I’m looking forward to hearing your story in 2015 from 2014. I promise, you will overcome also. Power forward in the times of trial. I promise, you will be a better person for it.
4 Comments
Inspiring message, thanks for sharing.
Resilience is, indeed, a wonderful thing. Having – and keeping – perspective in times of trial is a valuable, and frequently hard-won gift. In addition to powering through, I challenge myself to re-frame every negative as a positive, like a kind of negativity blindness. Obviously, it won’t work for everything, nor for everybody, but I’ve had great success. Even if the positive is simply, ‘This situation is temporary,’ it’s often enough to regain that precious perspective, and avoid getting mired down by self-pity. It’s a technique that must be practiced consciously for a time before it can develop into a reflex, but it’s well worth the effort.
Cheers! Lisa Chatroop, Good.Co
Great post, Will…
Welcome to the Blogging4Jobs family!
I always look at this as a time of personal renovation and healing – many view it as a start over. I don;t want to start over – I want to take my lessons of the year (which are typically many) and move on from them, learning, growing, and changing, as I go.
One of FB friends recently posted “Why can’t we have this spirit of renewal every day?” I will take that with me through this year and through the struggles that drop in my lap and trees that fall across my path. Happy New Day to Us….
Cheers!
-Rayanne
Lisa,
Thank you for responding! “Re-frame every negative as a positive” is hard to do, but it is something we must strive to do every day. I appreciate you taking time to comment.
Ray Ann,
Thrilled to be part of such a great team. I enjoy reading your posts and look forward to reading them. I will take what your FB friend said also. New Day every Day!
Will
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