All It Does Is Make Me BETTER!

The world keeps trying to knock me down. All it does is make me better. That’s been a subconscious thought process of mine since I was in my early teens. Strangely, I didn’t know how to harness the power of that thought process until I consciously realized that it could determine the level of joy and happiness I experienced on a day-to-day basis. I’m excited to share this perspective today because it can work for YOU too! And honestly, who wouldn’t be willing to commit to a new perspective that could increase the level of joy and happiness they experience each and every day.

                  There’s no shortage of things that weigh heavy on our minds each day. From small things that could impact our jobs, marriage, finances, home, children, health, and our future; to major things like a cancer diagnosis, death of a loved one, loss of income, a severe vehicle accident, or mental health challenges. Wouldn’t it make the most sense to have a pre-planned strategy in place to handle the things that attempt to knock us down each day? Yes. But how does one go about developing a strategy that consistently works for both minor and major life challenges.

                  The biggest obstacle that prevents positive action is asking ourselves the “Why ME?” question. When you analyze the “Why ME?” question having any value to your life, it turns out it’s one of the biggest timewasters ever. Every minute, hour, or day spent asking “Why ME?” could have been time spent figuring out a path forward. Self-pity has never provided anyone a path forward. Please note that I didn’t say there’s no room for sadness when the world knocks you down. In fact, sadness can sometimes pull you down a path of solution. It’s the bitterness associated with the “Why ME?” question that can destroy us. It’s been said that bitterness is like taking poison yourself in the hope that someone else dies.

A worthwhile goal is to eliminate all bitterness from your life. How? The best place to start is with an Instant Acceptance attitude whenever the world attempts to knock you down. Instant acceptance allows you to immediately seek ways to turn what could be a negative into a positive. Instant acceptance leads to the belief that there’s a purpose behind what’s occurring, and that you need to figure out how what’s happening to you can help others who may be facing the same challenge. It’s a thought process that makes you a better person than you were the day before.

Here's a couple of personal examples that I hope will inspire you. When our second son was born the doctors informed my wife and I they believed he had down syndrome. That meant that the dreams we had for his future life pivoted in a way we couldn’t even comprehend at the time. After a few minutes of tears, we looked at each other and proclaimed that we would be the best parents that a child with down syndrome would ever have. No “Why ME.” No self-pity. Just instant acceptance and a desire to discover the purpose of having a son with down syndrome.

26 years later, we view having a son with disabilities as an incredible privilege that has Blessed our lives. We’re better people than we would have been. We’ve advanced the role that faith, hope, love, compassion, attentive listening, encouragement, gratitude, inspiration, character, and kindness play in our lives. We’ve utilized those advancements to help others. Are we perfect? Far from it, but we embrace constant and never-ending improvement in all that we do and all that we are. Our son with down syndrome has had a huge positive impact on his three brothers who have developed solid character traits that have deep roots from growing up with a sibling with disabilities. Knocked down? Sure. But we’re all better people than we would have been.

Cancer. Every person in the world hates that word, and for good reason. I had to lean heavily on my “life challenges strategy” when I was told I had cancer. It seemed surreal that my first thought when I heard that I had cancer was asking myself how I could be a beacon of hope for anyone else hearing that dreaded word. No “Why ME?”, no bitterness; just a sense that I need to discover a purpose I could associate with having cancer. Providing empathy, hope, kindness, and love to others has been a huge part of my recovery and I’m grateful to be cancer free as I write this.

So, what about YOU? Have you been knocked down lately? Are there things that seem totally unfair that are going on in your life right now? Are you willing to develop a new strategy that faces challenges head on the minute you encounter them? Would you utilize a strategy that provides hope and a positive path that leads to increased joy and happiness in life? I sure hope so.

So, here’s what I want you to do right now. Create a list of all the times the world has knocked you down where the results ended up making you a better person. Think about how that occurred each time and lock it in your memory. Glance at that list every day and you’ll be well on your way to bypassing the “Why Me?” and the bitterness that previously occurred, replaced by a sense of discovering the purpose of the challenge that’s been placed in front of you. Need some instant motivation? Go look in the nearest mirror and tell the person you see “YOU’RE WORTH IT!” I believe you are, and you should too. GiddyUp!