Can't Sleep? - Try Counting Your Blessings

I can't take credit for the title. I happened to be driving past a church the other day and noticed it on their sign board out front. I am a great believer in fate - I believe everything in life happens to you for a reason. It may not be obvious at the time, but eventually it will make sense, and you'll be able to connect the dots.

You see, things weren't going exactly as planned and I was starting to question some of the choices I had made lately. That church sign helped me put things into perspective. It made me realize that at the end of the day, although things weren't perfect, I was still better off then most. That sign was telling me to stop feeling sorry for myself and get on with it. Life is about choices: I can choose to keep feeling sorry for myself, or I can choose to work through it. I decided to suck it up and get on with it.

"For every failure, there's an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour" - Mary Kay Ash - Mary Kay Cosmetics

No matter how bad you think you have it, there is always someone else worse off than you. Case in point: my son and his wife ventured downtown the other day to walk about and enjoy a cup of coffee at an outdoor café. They where walking through the local farmers market when my son recognized one of the homeless persons standing on the corner - it was an old high school class mate of his. At that moment he realized that he didn't have it so bad after all. You see, he had been complaining about his job; about having to endure working for an ungrateful public for a measly $10.00 an hour. When he compared what he had to endure compared to his old class mate, he knew he didn't have it so bad after all.

"All human unhappiness comes from not facing reality squarely, exactly as it is" - Buddha

Life, at times, can truly seem unfair. A colleague of mine passed away suddenly, after being diagnosed with cancer. He went to the doctor complaining of headaches to discover that he had an inoperatable tumor on his brain and the cancer had spread down into his lungs. Here is a working example of how bad things happen to good people. My friend was one of the 'good guys'. He was my hero, the one professor I most wanted to emulate. I was blessed to have known him because he made me a better teacher and a better person. His death has inspired me to carry on his legacy.

"Every obstacle yields to stern resolve" - Leonardo Da Vinci - Italian artist / inventor

What are you thankful for? The next time you start feeling sorry for yourself play the 'Thankful' game. Take out a blank piece of paper and start writing down all of those things that you are thankful for. I am thankful for: having known Ron Knowles, my son Brad, my daughter in-law Sam, my ex-wife Linda, french fries, golf, College Football on Saturdays and NFL Football on Sundays, NASCAR, and a glass of red wine.

Be sure you take the time this Thanksgiving to count your blessings. My hope is that you'll come to realize that you don't have it that bad after all. - Cheers.

| Home | Services | Products | Workshops | Clients | What's New | Contact Us | About Us |