2 IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER (WHEN EVERYTHING GOES WRONG)
Angel Chernoff
“Today, I’m sitting in my hospital bed waiting to have both my breasts
removed. But in a strange way I feel like the lucky one. Up until now I have
had no health problems. I’m a 69-year-old woman in the last room at the end of
the hall before the pediatric division of the hospital begins. Over the past
few hours I have watched dozens of cancer patients being wheeled by in
wheelchairs and rolling beds. None of these patients could be a day older than
17.”
That’s an entry from my grandmother, Zelda’s, journal, dated 9/16/1977. I
photocopied it and pinned it to my bulletin board about a decade ago. It’s
still there today, and it continues to remind me that there is always, always,
always something to be thankful for. And that no matter how good or bad I have
it, I must wake up each day thankful for my life, because someone somewhere
else is desperately fighting for theirs.
Truth be told, happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to
deal with them. Imagine all the wondrous things your mind might embrace if it
weren’t wrapped so tightly around your struggles. Always look at what you have,
instead of what you have lost. Because it’s not what the world takes away from
you that counts; it’s what you do with what you have left.
Here are two key reminders transcribed from lessons in our “Getting Back
to Happy Course” to help motivate you when you need it most:
1. Every little struggle is a step forward.
In life, patience is not about waiting; it’s the ability to keep a good
attitude while working hard on your dreams and desires, knowing that the work
is worth it. So if you’re going to try, put in the time and go all the way.
Otherwise, there’s no point in starting. This could mean losing stability and
comfort for a while, and maybe even your mind on occasion. It could mean not
eating what, or sleeping where, you’re used to, for weeks on end. It could mean
stretching your comfort zone so thin it gives you a nonstop case of the chills.
It could mean sacrificing relationships and all that’s familiar. It could mean
accepting ridicule from your peers. It could mean lots of time alone in
solitude. Solitude, though, is the gift that makes great things possible. It
gives you the space you need. Everything else is a test of your determination,
of how much you really want it.
And if you want it, you’ll do it, despite failure and rejection and the odds.
And every step will feel better than anything else you can imagine. You will
realize that the struggle is not found on the path, it is the path. And it’s
worth it. So if you’re going to try, go all the way. There’s no better feeling
in the world… there’s no better feeling than knowing what it means to be ALIVE.
2. The best thing you can do is to keep going.
Don’t be afraid to get back up – to try again, to love again, to live again,
and to dream again. Don’t let a hard lesson harden your heart. Life’s best
lessons are often learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes. There
will be times when it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is
going wrong. And you might feel like you will be stuck in this rut forever, but
you won’t. When you feel like quitting, remember that sometimes things have to
go very wrong before they can be right. Sometimes you have to go through the
worst, to arrive at your best.
Yes, life is tough, but you are tougher. Find the strength to laugh every day.
Find the courage to feel different, yet beautiful. Find it in your heart to
make others smile too. Don’t stress over things you can’t change. Live simply.
Love generously. Speak truthfully. Work diligently. And even if you fall short,
keep going. Keep GROWING forward, one step at a time.
And of course, if you’re struggling with any of this, know that you are
not alone. Many of us are right there with you, working hard to feel
better, think more clearly, and get our lives back on track this year…