By David Tepera, May 9 2018
Every day we fight a multitude of challenges — some small, some big. But, what’s most important is how we allow “challenges” to define us. Do we find ourselves getting bitter or better?
Have you ever noticed when you have one little setback in the morning, the whole day seems to snowball into a flurry of negative events? That happens because you stayed bitter, chose a bad attitude, and sulked in your pity party. You unconsciously attracted every situation to go wrong.
Really, the only people I feel sorry for were those you interacted with. I’m sure you weren’t the sunshine in their life, and probably created a bad day for them, too.
I’ve seen this many times in sports. One team gets into a funk, loses all confidence and continues to make ridiculous mistakes. We often see baseball players go into a slump in hitting, basketball players lose their touch on shooting, golfers choke while putting and so on.
Now, here’s the beauty of being bitter. You can flip your attitude immediately and get back on track to a better day and life. Just understand that out of every situation you can find goodness, positive experience, growth and maturity.
A small example was recently when I was carrying the dog bowls full of food from the kitchen. One bowl slipped from my hand and the food scattered in all directions. My first instinct was to say some words that would upset my grandma.
How many of you all ready figured out the solution? Of course, the dogs had a field day eating off the floor. I’m sure they found a few extra particles along the way. I was just as excited as the dogs because I didn’t have to pick it up, plus the floors were getting a true spit-shine.
Look, I understand that we all face much more difficult and challenging situations than I just described. But, the point was for you to realize that with conscious effort, you can switch every situation to be better. Sometimes, it takes a little more time than others.
For years, I’ve trained myself that when I feel backed in a corner of defeat, I think of all the people I hold deep in my heart. Believe me, nothing is stronger than true honest love.