Are you
where you thought you’d be today?
Have your
hopes and dreams of yesterday become the reality of today?
Have you
been able to completely resolve major issues of the past?
I have to
answer those questions with an emphatic “No!” I still have some of the same
struggles. Certain people and situations I want to change haven’t altered much—if
at all. I seem to have no control
over so many aspects of my life. I can’t speed up, or completely resolve,
crucial issues no matter how hard I try.
I feel like throwing up my hands and
saying, “I give up!” You may be able to relate.
Improvement Within Chaos
Let’s step
back for a moment and take a breath…So your life isn’t as perfect as expected
as this point. On the other hand, you
can probably think of situations that have gotten better—even if only a
little. I have made a table of some examples of how my life has moved forward
in the past year:
|
No job
|
Full-time job
|
|
Unmotivated kids
|
Studying for technical
certification
|
|
Moderate asthma
|
It’s improving
|
|
14-year old car
|
Bought a 4-year old car
|
|
Severe, chronic medical problem
|
Found a natural cure—finally!!!!!
|
|
A small amount of energy
|
Have a physical job
|
Please note
that I didn’t include the table above to brag about myself. I made it for the
purpose of showing that anyone’s life
can progress against the odds. It’s one of those “If I can do it, you can do it”
situations.
Substitute your
own defeats and victories for mine. You’ll notice that slow, baby steps to triumph
can be found even within tough circumstances. You just have to switch your
focus from the negative to the positive. I recently wrote articles about appreciating
brief moments of joy here
and counting your blessings here.
Carol Graham
My close
friend is currently going through a number of trials. That’s pretty much the
story of her life. She recently
published an excellent article about focusing on the positive here.
Her take was that we should compare our lives of one year ago to today; we may
notice progress among setbacks. We must look beyond our current tough
situations with gratitude and vision, though.
My Conclusion
Along with
the struggle come small victories. Along with the thorns comes the rose. It’s
all in how you look at it.
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have
plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”—Philippians 4:12
(NIV)
Related Posts
For more about step-by-step improvement, please see my book, Accept No Trash
Talk: Overcoming the Odds
Are you able to look beyond the
thorns to the rose?
No comments:
Post a Comment