Life isn't easy...

Hello Journeyers,
Let's just get straight to the point. This is going to be a long soppy post. I'm not a very happy person lately, I've had the worst year of my life so far and things just don't seem to be getting better. I'm going to be honest, I'm not a very positive person to be around lately so if you are looking for laughs and sympathy, it would be best to not stop by me. I might not be able to give you that. I actually told Cedric last night that I'm more and more convinced that my father was my lucky charm and now that he's taken away my luck just went right with him.

Then I have people in my life that some days make me realize that life isn't always that bad. Like Claudine. I actually feel very sorry for her. You see we work together. So she's like my easy access vent system. The best part is she's also someone that doesn't deal with people looking for sympathy very well, and on days when I need the "Stop your crap and get your act together" speech, I go to her. She's honest like that, and at the same time nice about it. She doesn't wait for something to happen, she makes it happen. Like today, I'm having a off last few days, then she pops me this email...

"This morning, nearly five years after my husband’s passing, a beautiful couple and their three kids knocked on my front door.  The man smiled and said, “Your husband was my heart donor.  He saved my life.  Not a single day has gone by that I don’t pray for him and think of you.  Thank you!"

This is the opening paragraph right out of an email I received today from a reader named, Colleen.  She goes on to admit that she couldn’t see any positive sides of her husband’s death, until she was staring at them on her door step.  “It doesn’t necessarily make things easier, but it certainly changed the way I think.  I feel like a small piece of my broken heart has healed.”

And the truth is, it happens just like that.  Although Colleen’s experience is unique, and somewhat extreme, at some point life slaps all of us with a good reminder that shifts our perspective.  Personally, I have been slapped with several of these reminders over the years.   And today, I want to pass a few of them along to you...

1.  Everything that happens helps you grow, even if it’s hard to see right now. – Circumstances will direct you, correct you, and perfect you over time.  Sometimes these circumstances knock you down, hard.  There will be times when it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong.  And you might feel like you will be stuck in this rut forever, but you won’t.  When you feel like quitting, remember that sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be right.  Sometimes you have to go through the worst, to arrive at your best.  So hold on to hope.  The tiniest thread will twist into an unbreakable cord.  Let hope anchor you in the possibility that this is not the end of your story – that the change in the tides will eventually bring you to new shores.  ( from the “Adversity” chapter of our book)

2.  The way you feel about people and situations will change, and that’s OK. – Things will seem totally different to you at some point in the future, just as you feel different now than you did in the past.  So remember, just because you liked something at one point in time doesn’t mean you’ll always like it, or that you have to go on liking it at all points in the future as an unthinking act of loyalty to who you are as a person, based solely on who you once were as a person.  To be loyal to yourself is to allow yourself to grow and change, and challenge who you once were and what you once thought. The only thing you ever have to be for sure is unsure, and this means you’re growing, and not stagnant or shrinking.

3.  Those who complain the most, accomplish the least. – It’s always better to attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.  It’s not over if you’ve lost; it’s over when you do nothing but complain about it.  If you believe in something, keep trying.  Don’t let the shadows of the past darken the doorstep of your future.  Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any brighter.  Take action instead.  And regardless of what happens in the long run, remember that true happiness begins to arrive only when you stop complaining about your problems and you start being grateful for all the problems you don’t have.  ( from the “Goals and Success” chapter of our book)

4.  You are not alone in feeling weird and alone. – I used to think I was the strangest person in the world, but then I thought about how there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels weird and flawed in the same ways I do.  I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too.  Well, I hope that if you are out there reading this, you now know that, yes, it is true I'm here, and I'm just as strange as you.  I often feel and think and struggle much like you do.  I care about many of the things you care about, just in my own way.  And although some people do not understand us, we understand each other.  YOU are not weird and alone!

5.  The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts. – The mind is your battleground.  It's the place where the greatest conflict resides.  It’s where half of the things you thought were going to happen, never did happen.  But if you allow these thoughts to dwell in your mind, they will succeed in robbing you of peace, joy, and ultimately your life.  You will think yourself into a nervous breakdown, into depression, and into defeat.  You are what you think. You can’t change anything if you can’t change your thinking.  A beautiful day begins with a beautiful mindset.  When you wake up, take a second to think about what a privilege it is to simply be alive and healthy.  Breathe onto the bathroom mirror, just to see how amazing your breath looks.  The moment you start acting like life is a blessing, I assure you it will start to feel like one.  ( from the “Happiness” chapter of our book)

And again, if you're struggling with any of these points, remember that you are not alone.  We are all in this together.  Many of us are right there with you, working hard to feel better, think more clearly, and keep our lives on track. 

By: Marc and Angel Hack Life
Practical Tips for Productive Living

She knows when I need what, and this made me realise that there's much worse things going on the world than my problems. But I'm dealing and coping with it day by day. Some days are better than others. Sometimes I need that push and help sometimes I don't. But for now, I will take it day by day and try and at least concentrate on the positive because let's face it, life isn't easy, but it's what you make of it and on the plus side...I'm alive and healthy....

Thank you to everyone that's been taking my crap and for not kicking me to the curb yet. I appreciate you guys more than you know!