August 11, 2016

Fighting Ridiculous Odds: One Inspiring Example


A story that has been passed down for generations illustrates an important point with dark humor:

No matter how difficult our lives seem to be, somebody’s always struggling more.

I’ll paraphrase the tale: A group of older men are sitting around discussing their traumatic elementary-school years. One man says he had to walk to school for two miles in shoes with holes. His friend calls out, “Shoes? You had shoes? I had to walk for three miles in my bare feet!” The last man chimes in with “Feet?  You had feet? I had to crawl four miles in the snow to school!”

A Positive Mindset Against Ridiculous Odds

A good attitude is soooo important. Negativity never moves anyone forward. Those are fine words, but how easy are they to really put into practice? What if we get continually pounded down with trauma beyond our control? What if we’re the ones who have to crawl to school in the snow, metaphorically speaking? Don’t we have the right to feel angry and hopeless; ready to throw in the towel? 

We may have the right to be angry. However, such an attitude will only darken our minds; it won’t offer any solutions. I have friends who are going through a ton of trauma in many areas. Amazingly enough, every one of them has chosen to put the darkness behind them.




Back to the “Feet? You had feet?”  part of the story…Nick Vujicic is a motivational speaker, singer, author, and I’m not sure what else. He was born without arms and legs. Please watch this unbelievably inspiring YouTube video of him singing “Something More.”  His voice is magnificent, and the message will make you cry. It lasts 6:37, but it’s worth every minute. If you cannot watch it now, please save the link for later; you won’t regret it!




My Conclusion

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.”—Romans 8:28 (NIV)

Our attitude can be completely unrelated to our circumstances. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about a peaceful man born without arms and legs who is a world-renown motivational speaker, author, and singer, or; Jesus sleeping while a storm raged on the Sea of Galilee.

Related Posts


Please see more about attitude in my book, Accept No Trash Talk: Overcoming the Odds.


What are you doing “without feet” today?

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