Originally posted on Facebook HERE
We see what we believe. We could believe that life is awesome, everything always works out for the best, and every moment is a gift no matter what happens. We can also believe life sucks and then we die. Most of us are somewhere in between, I guess. We have moments where we’re on top of the world and just really loving it, and others where we question everything. The one thing that’s consistent in life is change. And for the most part, we as humans don’t seem to be a big fan of change. We have our little networks of people, places and things we know and love. But it’s going to change. Someone will die, or get hurt, or lose a job. Cars wear out, homes need repair, clothes wear out, and our pets don’t live forever, either. And inside us all is a series of emotions that get hit whenever change occurs. Traumatic events – loss of a pet or a loved one, for example – they hit hard. And can come at any time without warning, too. It’s hard to be thankful for the time you had together when something that close to your heart is raw and fresh. I read in a book about money yesterday a quote that said, “nothing is as good or as bad as it seems”, and it stuck in my head as something to keep in my head as a reminder. The tides come in, the tides roll out, and we’ll either enjoy the ride or hate it depending on how we choose to see things. I’m always intrigued by people who can actually do a total 180 in life – quit their jobs, move somewhere else, sell everything and hike though Europe, start a new business, whatever it is… people who’s internal drive and focus is so strong they make a huge life change and do it without really having much, if any, safety net. That truly “feel the fear, and do it anyway”. Does it always work out? Depends on what you believe. Quit your job, sell everything you can to start a new business that fails in the first year – happens all the time. You took a risk, and it didn’t work out the way you had hoped. Success or failure? You took the shot – success. It didn’t work out… but often the times when we’re down, when we’re broke, when we’ve lost someone or something close to us… it’s those experiences that shape our futures. Many people went bankrupt before they got rich, including Walt Disney, Dave Ramsey and Abraham Lincoln. There are many cases of people who used an awful life event to create something that benefited others. MADD and John Walsh (America’s Most Wanted) are examples of that. So whether we live with a silver lining or a dark cloud, that choice is ours alone. Because it determines what we’re looking for. Half empty or half full… our moments are shaped by our beliefs.
