Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. ~Henry Ford.
The more I live, the more I realize life is all about perspective. Life is how you see it, plain and simple, and it’s a choice.
Everyone has tough seasons in their lives, but you mustn’t let your life become a tough season. A family member dies, circumstances change, there’s a job loss, or you encounter adversity of another kind.
Elizabeth’s dad lived the last 40+ years of his life in a wheelchair. Yet, every time I saw him, he had a smile on his face. He was always excited to see and talk with people, despite his challenges. To be sure, his lifestyle changed when he was 33, and there were some very tough days.
But rather than go into a cocoon, he relished life and people. He made coffee in the morning, he would go to the store, and he would tell jokes and enjoy family and friends despite his halting speech. It was a matter of choice. Guess what: He rarely talked of himself, but he always wanted to know about you.
Have you known people like that? People who had every right to be bitter but chose to be better? People who viewed life as a blessing rather than a burden? People who accepted the challenge instead of adopting a victim mentality?
If you view the situations in your life as chaos, turmoil and struggle, you’ll likely live life with constant anxiety and uncertainty. But if you choose to see the positive and take that road, life will be different. Again, it’s a choice — and the choice is yours.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.
You. Have. A. Choice.
Take a look at that heavy situation in your life today. You know, the one that consumes more time than it should. The one that gets your blood boiling. The one that has become a Debby Downer in your life. You know, it’s the one you probably won’t let go of.
Is there another way you can look at it? Take a step back or a step to the side and see it from a different angle. Where — or what — is that silver lining? What is God telling you about this situation? Remember, it’s not about you.
Winston Churchill “if you’re going through hell, keep going.” You certainly don’t want to set up shop or camp in adversity, and fear is the dead-end that will keep you in your current hardship and block your glorious future.
When you seem to be at a dead-end, it’s essential to focus on what you have, not what you don’t have. You have more than you realize. More friends. More of what really matters. More life.
You can’t always control the outcome, but you can control your mindset, attitude, and focus.
What would change for you if you…
- Could wake up tomorrow morning and not have that issue on your plate?
- Saw your so-called disaster as a blessing and an opportunity?
- Choose the life of the next step instead of the death of the current?
- Found the door in what you thought was the dead-end street?
- Found a way to use the lessons of your adversity to help someone else?
It’s all about your perspective. Completely and totally, 100%.
How will you look at your mountain now? It’s your choice.
Choose life.