Life's Like This — To some, life is a breeze and for others it's just one head wind after another. Facing storms and challenges in life is simply, part of life. Many of us wish that we could avoid them altogether, that they would chart a course in a direction that steers clear of our personal lives and all the people we love and care for. But as we grow older and life unfolds, we quickly come to realize that the lessons and challenges of life are not for a select few — everyone must have their share of them to contemplate, to wrestle with, to try to make sense of, and to try to avoid again in the future. While it sometimes seems that others live lives that are free of many of the obstacles you or I are forced to confront, life does not discriminate — it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, the challenges of life are sure to unfold and must be met regardless of our wealth or social standing. How we meet the challenges we are confronted with will often dictate their outcome and the impact they eventually have on our lives.
In my life, there has been one constant element that has been my nemesis — my attitude. How we think or feel about something is often reflected in our behavior. When I look back over my life, when I reflect on my current circumstances, I can't help but be forced to face my role in the outcome of my choices and the consequences that have come about as a result of being negative and embracing an attitude that does nothing but tear down the fabric of my self-esteem, my relationships, and my interaction with those whose paths in life I cross. I alone, just as you too must decide, if your attitude is shaping a course of despair or if it is setting a course of happiness and joy in your life.
Our attitude is the catalyst that sparks either harmony or disharmony in our lives. It can be the impetus that stimulates personal growth or it can be the source that keeps us mired in a destructive pool of anger, uncertainty and hopelessness. The way we express our attitude is the key to how we feel about ourselves and quite often to how others feel about us. That is the nature of personal choices in life — it is always up to us — we have the power to influence the outcome of our lives, no matter what obstacles life throws at us by embracing an attitude that fosters positiveness and happiness. It is always so easy to preach those aspects of life that promote hope and success in our life endeavors, but when we are struck with disappointments and life events that create a spirit of negativity and hopelessness, it is only then that we discover whether we have the character that can rise above the circumstances that life has presented to us. How we confront our attitude — the way we allow that little voice inside our head to respond to all of life events — can chart either happiness or despair for us. Life is not easy. It can be unpredictable and full of situations that can test our character and our ability to rise above them full of hope and joy rather than with pessimism that benefits no one. Attitude can change everything. We only need to decide if our attitude is going to chart a course that brings us personal fulfillment in our lives or whether we will allow ourselves to succumb to the sadness, despair and consequences that come as a result of viewing life through the lens of negativity. The choice is, and always will be, ours to decide.
Life's Like This 