A Word to the Discouraged . . .

Are you having one of those days today? Does everything in your life seem to be running out of control? Do you feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of tasks that are waiting for your attention? Do you find yourself becoming short-tempered, frustrated, discouraged?

If you do, just remember that we all have days like this. No matter how well we plan, there are times when everything just seems to fall apart. You have too many distractions, emergencies arise, the car breaks down, your boss gets on your case, a child gets sick, you wake up late and the day goes downhill from there. Some days make you feel like you should've just stayed in bed!

So what do you do?

You do the only thing you can do . . . you start putting the pieces back together one at a time. Think of your life as one giant jigsaw puzzle. You thought you had it all together and then, bam! Something knocks it off the table and there you are ~ looking at all those separate pieces again! Disheartening? Of course. Defeating? Not unless you allow it to be.

You allow yourself a few minutes to scream in anger, cry in despair and then you take a deep breath and start over. If you're lucky there are some pieces that managed to hold together. You set them aside to fit in the appropriate place and then you start on the easy stuff first ~ you put the border or framework together and go from there.

You'll soon find yourself steeped in the challenge again and, as you begin to make progress, the task won't seem as difficult or as unmanageable. That's the wonderful thing about taking action ~ it gives you back the satisfying sense of being in control again. Your mood automatically brightens and your self-esteem and confidence soar.

Isn't that a much better result than sitting around feeling angry and disappointed that things didn't go the way you planned? What does that accomplish? Of course! The answer is nothing! Nothing positive that is. All moping and beating your breast does is keep you down and reinforce the feeling that you're a victim of circumstances. You aren't! Sure, your plans were destroyed but that shouldn't give you an excuse for not making new plans and getting back to where you want to be.

It all goes back to the fact that, while things happen you can't control, you can control how you react to them and that gives you immeasurable power over your life. Use that power to make your life the way you want it to be. Don't allow other people or events to pull you down into the pits of negativism and self-pity.

When you're faced with a challenge ~ accept it with a positive attitude, knowing that you'll end up stronger and, yes, even a little wiser.