Paint Your Own Picture

I'm sitting on the couch, Ipad on my lap, icing my sprained ankle after a morning trip down the outside steps. My two year old daughter decided to listen to her daddy for once, and wait for me on the top step, in order to walk down together. As I turned around from the locking the front door, there she was, standing directly in front of me. Naturally trying to avoid knocking her down, I swerved out of the way, falling to the 2nd step, only to hear my ankle "pop" and twist, knocking us both to the bottom of the steps... golf clubs and her school bag strapped to my shoulders. Clubs went flying, Logan fell on her stomach, car keys flew into street, and both of us left wincing in pain. Not my finest moment.

My entire day (maybe the week) is now left in a scramble. Clients to call, times to move around, and ways of salvaging my scheduled sessions needing to be figured out. There was two minutes of panic, as I focused on how screwed my day just became. As those brief two minutes ended, my two favorite words took over: "Now what?!"

Instead of worrying about how long I'd be out of aciton, or how many clients I was going to need to call, answers became the priority. It'll be these answers that shape my day, week, and the rest of my life. It doesn't matter what happens, only the questions I ask myself after it happens.

By no means is this post about comparing my little ankle sprain to others' more challenging experiences. Rather, the focus is on finding answers, no matter the situation. It's these answers that will dictate who we become.

Reading different articles on all the social media outlets and personal blogs, it seems as if talking about the negative that's happening in life has become habitual. There's so much complaining and whining about one's experiences, yet at the same time, wondering why change isn't taking place. Or even worse, blaming others for their own unfortunate circumstances.

Let me share a secret that's not really a secret: The more we talk about the pain in our life, without focus on changing it's future, the more pain we'll experience!

Sympathy is a strong emotion, and can become addicting. Sure, it feels wonderful to have others patting our backs, and telling us everything will be o.k. (and may even be healthy, short term), but long term, it's paralyzing to our goal setting passion.

No matter what's happened, or happening to us, stay focused on the future goals we've set. Depending on our challenges, the time it takes to achieve those goals will differ, but the passion, discipline, and action needed will always remain the same.

Choose the picture. Paint it with every last ounce of fight you have.