Unlike many movies where things look bleak and then something amazing happens to rescue people from difficult circumstances, there are a lot of people dealing with very challenging situations as the new year approaches. From home foreclosures, high heating bills, broken down cars and no money for repairs to sick children and absent spouses, people are trying to figure out how to deal with the hand they have been dealt.
While the holiday season is typically a time of joyful celebration, this year it may be especially challenging for folks to see the bright side of things. Have you allowed the joyful spirit of the season to be overshadowed with an attitude of doom and gloom? It has been said that attitude is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you choose to respond. It is easy to say, “If I had more money I would be happy.” or “If I had a job all my troubles would disappear.” The reality is just when you think you have the world by the tail life throws you a curve ball. Then you get to decide how you will respond.
No matter what you are experiencing now, it is important to recognize that this is one event in a lifetime of events. How will you allow this event to define you? When you are in the midst of difficult circumstances it is easy to think the worst, but the truth is this too shall pass. All of us know people who create drama over anything and everything. They approach life with their glass half empty. Instead of focusing on what is not right, take time to look at how you have been blessed and the potential this moment in time has to enrich your life. Most people when experiencing difficulties rarely say they are enjoying it. However, when they look back, while they wouldn’t want to go through it again they also say they wouldn’t trade what they learned by walking that road. The most challenging events in our lives often grow us the most.
As you approach the new year you have an opportunity to write a new chapter. Instead of focusing on what might have been, consider spending time thinking about what could be. Many people waste a lot of valuable time thinking about “what ifs.” What if I had taken that other job? What if I had moved somewhere else? What if I had married someone else? What if I had handled that situation differently with my child? Focusing on what could have been distracts us from seeing all of the positive things happening and the opportunities we are presented on a daily basis to make a difference.
Resolve to stop spending time and energy trying to control the uncontrollable. Accept the fact that things may not have gone your way this past year. Accept the fact that some family members are always going to be difficult. Accept the fact that you are not perfect and neither are the people around you. Accept the fact that the unexpected will happen when you least expect it. And accept the fact that you have limitations.
It is so easy to overlook today thinking about what tomorrow will bring. In his book, The Precious Present, Dr. Spencer Johnson makes the point that the “precious present” can be maddeningly elusive and gloriously attainable. Leaning to live in the present is a process. I can choose to be happy now or I can try to be happy when …. or if…. the book states. Dr. Johnson encourages the reader to savor every moment in life as perfect, apparently good or apparently bad and certainly as a gift.
So, if you find yourself in between jobs at this moment in time take advantage of the opportunity to do all those things that people say they never have time to do because they are too busy.
- Spend time with the people you love.
- Write thank you notes to people who have impacted your life.
- Organize your photos.
- Make a scrapbook.
- Organize your belongings weeding out those things that really don’t matter to you. Who knows, you might have some items that other people could really use.
- Look around for people who are worse off than you and find ways to help them.
- Learn lessons from people who lived through the great depression and put them into practice.
We clearly are not guaranteed tomorrow. How will you make the most of each moment of the new year?
Copyright ©2010 First Things First
