A Post meant as Encouragement to those with a life struggle

 

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is that little voice at the end of the day that says: "I'll try again tomorrow."
--Anne Hunninghake

A key quality that distinguishes a successful athlete, or a top-notch performer in any field, is the way he responds to his bad days. Everyone has good days and bad days, and the good ones are certainly easier to handle. But do we allow the bad ones to throw us off our course? Are we so shaken by our mistakes or troubles that we lose our focus on our goals?

Adult development is a process; it's never an end goal that we reach and hold. Our healing and recovery includes preparing ourselves to respond well to the bad days. We can do that by keeping our eye on the big picture, knowing that however bad things may seem at the moment, they will change. We learn to reach deep into our spiritual center for the courage to stay focused in the midst of our hardest days. We don't have to do it alone. We have the spiritual support of our Higher Power and the companionship of our friends to keep us on the path.

Today I will stay in touch with my spiritual center to find the courage for another day.

“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

Vince Lombardi quote

Laureen-

Beautiful sentiments and so appropriate for each one of us.  It is so important for each one us to have courage and hope to take with us along the journey.  As Helen Keller said "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." 

Much Luv!

Laura

Laureen,
As I was reading your post, I was reminded of something I said to my adolescent girls group at the hospital yesterday.  I have been teaching some of them to crochet.  Some are trying hard, and showing perseverance. others are getting discouraged and expressing the desire to quit.  I encouraged them to stick with it, and not give up.  I reminded them that I was their age when I learned, and if I could learn it, they could too. 

Also, when I was in graduate school, I went through the wringer, emotionally, and physically for a lot of reasons.  Every single day was a struggle just to get to the end.  I was sober, and exhausted most of the time.  That was when I discovered the 6 a.m. meeting, because I was working full time, taking classes and doing internships all at the same time. 

There were many days I was tempted to chuck it, but I had, for some strange reason, Winston Churchill's voice in my head saying "Never give up.  Never surrender."  That got me through three of the toughest years of my life.  My therapist now refers to my grad school achievement whenever I am tempted to give up on myself. 

Just thought I would share that with you.

Hugs,
Trish

Laureen:
That is beautiful and something I will need to remember.  I know that WLS has opened a whole new support system to me and I have made such wonderful friends on which I know I can depend.  Thanks for being one of them.
Linda

 Laureen

Love the quote and the message that it is the way we respond to bad days that make us either quit our course or pursue our dreams.  You always have such great stuff to say and I always read it several times.  We talked about the Higher Power and I am still struggling with this but am trying to find what works for me.

Hugs
Arlene

I was watching Primetime Live ( i think that is what it was) last night and Diane Sawyer had the interviews that she did with that Professor who gave the " Last Lecture before Dying" he had pancreatic cancer and knew it was terminal and so he decided to give one last lecture as a professor. It was very moving and profound. She also interviewed his wife and she said that she struggled trying to enjoy the time she had left with her husband, because whenever she looked at him with the kids or sleeping she wanted to cry. She worked so hard at trying to savor the moment and not get negative. She said that her therapist gave her one simple mantra to repeat over and over, and I found it to be helpful myself. Her mantra is this " not helpful" she says that to herself when she gets negative, when she starts to wallow, she says this to herself. This is such a simple way to combat negative thoughts. That is the basis of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It teaches you to combat negative thoughts by challenging them and talking back. This is such a good example of this at its purest form. I have used this catch phrase this week during my pouch test and it has been so helpful to me. So next time you gripe at yourself say " NOT HELPFUL" and move on. BT W that professor died this week.