Life loves to test us at times doesn’t it? | Weekly Wisdom

You can sit there and be upset about it, or you can focus on the things that you can control…

Life loves to test us at times doesn’t it?

We scream out for vanilla ice cream and it gives us chocolate.

Well, sometimes I wish it was as easy as that. I still like chocolate so in that example, I’m not getting what I want, but I’m still getting a pretty damn good option.

Life’s challenges are a bit more severe than what flavoured ice-cream we got handed though.

Or aren’t they?

You’re probably thinking; “Chris, where are you going with this”

And to be honest, I don’t really know. I’m writing this on the fly. I’m exploring my thoughts & feelings, letting my curiosity guide me, challenge me, unlock a new part of me, a new way of thinking.

“So Chris, surely you’re not thinking that life’s most severe challenges are as simple as getting chocolate ice cream when you wanted that creamy vanilla?”

I’m not saying that exactly but I certainly believe it’s up to us how we view any particular situation.

Do we focus on the good, because I guarantee you there is some hiding in there.

Or do we just focus on all the bad?

Comedy or tragedy?

I don’t know about you but I’d rather laugh than cry.

Now I’m not writing this to disregard all of your challenges. Let me tell you a little story:

I spent 3 hours with my dad the other day. We walked and talked, drank coffee, ate some eggs on toast with Vegemite lightly spreaded on the bread. We had a great time.

But what was different about this catch up is I asked dad to tell me a bit about his life. The things I didn’t know. All of the things you’d define as “Adult Talk”, because I’ve never been old enough to hear these things up until now.

And Dad didn’t hold back. He shared some really challenging times in his life. Major traumas, massive moments of uncertainty, heartbreak, suffering and challenge. To see how far my dad has come, given the challenges he has had, is incredibly inspiring.

But he said something to me that I’ll never forget. He said: “son, these moments of hardship in your life change the whole course of your life. The way you think, act, attract. They shape you”

In that moment I thought 2 things:

1. My problems don’t mean shit. I’ve been through nothing compared to this. I’m blessed.

2. I can’t disregard the challenges in peoples life. They really are a big deal

These two thoughts kept circling in my mind and before I could get a word out dad chimes in again and says:

“But son, here is the deal, they change your life, but they only control your life if you let them. And the best part about it is, you get to choose.”

I thought WOW. Let them change your life. GOOD. It’s just up to you to develop a sense of pride in yourself. Because then if you’re truely proud of the person you see in the mirror, you can’t have any regrets. Because everything that has happened, good or bad, has shaped you into the person you are today in which you are proud of that person.

So where does this ice cream analogy come into play?

If you look back on your life, the most life changing moments for you were the low points in your life. So with that said, would you take back any of the hard times you’ve been through? I’d bet most of you would say no? Besides you can’t even if you wanted to. Everything has worked out just fine, you’re still here reading this today. Wouldn’t it have been easier if your mind deflated the severity as opposed to inflated?

I think the best way we can overcome a hard time is to not think it’s a hard time. So with that said; is the hard time a comedy or a tragedy?

No one wants to experience hardship, it’s not fun. But laughing through the chaos is a whole lot more fun than crying through it.

If you can reframe the severity of your challenge from something extreme to “Its like I got chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla and I reallllyyyy wanted vanilla”, you can go through the challenge easier.

I’m writing this on a plane to Bali right now. Sometimes I wish my mind could just switch off and not have this overthinking nature about it that challenges the smallest of thoughts and ends up writing a whole essay about something I never planned to write about.

But then again, wishing for that creative nature to switch off is wishing to eliminate one of my main strengths in life.

Thats me focusing on the bad, when there is a pool full of good on the other side of that negative thought.

What you focus on, you’ll find. It’s important to see the good in whatever you are going through because trust me, there is good there.

Some days it’s harder to find than others. But it’s there. Don’t give up on finding that good because if you do, your life will be a tragedy.

We need to enjoy all of the fleeting moments of life, not dwell in them.

Make that a priority this week.

Thank you for tuning in - have a great week all <3

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Thank you,

Chris