This is a reality series that you don’t want to miss out on! Who’s playing the starring role, well ‘˜YOU’, of course. But, what will the rolling credits reveal about the role you play? Will you be listed as the survivor, a victim, one of the extras, maybe the trouble maker, or will you be listed as a mover and a shaker?
I’ve always enjoyed listening to people talk about their life stories. I love hearing where they’ve come from and where they’ve been, but I’m not necessarily talking locale, instead I prefer hearing about the journey itself.
To me nothing is better than a good human interest story and I’ve found that for the most part everyone has a story to tell.
It always impresses me when I hear stories from people who’ve picked themselves up after a traumatic event. Those stories not only inspire me, but they captivate me.
If you’ve noticed life has a way of pulling us into circumstances that most of us would have never chosen and sometime those circumstances pull us down and knock us out. But, we must not let those trying times keep us down.
I’ve always wondered are some people just born stronger than others or are some circumstances just easier than others?
If you live long enough, you will experience your share of financial hardships, rejection, heartaches, loss and devastation but, it is how we respond to them that really count.
When I hear a story of the struggles and hardships that someone has gone through I do one of two things, I either walk away impressed or I simply walk away. Why?
When someone has gone through something tragic and they come out of it a stronger person than that is a story that inspires me and something that I choose to keep in my memory banks. I like to draw on the strength from those stories when I too go through something similar.
On the other hand, I dislike stories of defeat, stories from individuals that are content to play the woe is me card. While I do know that sometimes life does take us for an unexpected loop and we are down for the count, we should not and cannot allow it to keep us there. With every fiber of our being we need to attempt to rise above our circumstances no matter how many attempts it takes.
Charles Swindoll once said, “The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude … I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you … we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
I think that our attitude is the key ingredient and will determine whether we are going to sulk, flee, fight or pick our self-back up.
Don’t get me wrong, I can totally empathize with people that are going through something tough and I don’t think it is healthy to expect everyone to bounce back immediately, but at the same time I also don’t feel that it is healthy to accept a victim status and to play dead.
I love a good story and I love those stories from individuals who have learned from their past, or rose above their circumstances, those testimonies encourage me and inspire me. Sometimes those things that have occurred in our lives that have been devastating bring about the most change in us.
So, if you shared with me your life story today, what would your story say about your character? Are you a survivor, or do you have a defeatist mentality? Or better yet, do you have a success story?
Your personal stories say a lot about you and about your attitude, so if you don’t like the way you might be perceived, than change the ending to your story! The good news is that it’s not over until it’s over. As long as you have breath then there is still time to change. And, since you can’t necessarily change your circumstances let’s start with our attitudes. No more would of, could of, should of’s!
Remember this is not dress rehearsal and you have the starring role in your life. You might not be able to change your circumstances, but we can change our attitude!
Lights, Camera, ACTION!