When I was a young boy I would be devastated by the mean things kids at school would say. I took everything personally and I took it hard, and we all know how mean kids can be. I remember telling my mother that the kids were calling me, “Eli Peli,” chanting it over and over. It doesn’t even mean anything. She suggested I start going be my middle name, Peter. Like “Peter Eater” was going to be so much better. Really? Thanks so much, mom. Eventually I started to go by Pete. There were many opportunities to get my feelings hurt, choose to cry and be devastated by the meanness out there, act like a drama queen, be a victim, and think I had problems. The greatest thing my mother ever taught me through it all, however, was that, “This too shall pass.” And it did. Eventually I learned to not take things so personally. I grew thicker, tougher skin. I developed emotional resilience. Eventually, I was grateful for the experience. Thanks so much, mom.
There comes a time in all our lives where we grow tired of surviving and we decide to start thriving. We decide to change what we focus on. We acquire along the way the skills and tools we need to cope with every challenge, difficulty, and problem that comes our way, and one of the most important tools is the knowledge that this too shall pass. NOTHING is permanent.
No matter how bad a situation is, the time will pass, and the suffering will end, or at least consistently diminish as we up-level our skills for navigating through it better. We will be left with the blessing of another lesson or another nugget of wisdom we didn’t ask for, but will eventually grow to be grateful for.
The truth is this: Nobody is coming to save us. That isn’t anybody else’s job! It is our job to save our self.
If we want things to change and improve, WE have to change and improve!
It is SO important to get in the habit of doing EVERYTHING for ourselves, as much as possible, and NEVER expecting or looking to others to do for us what we can do for ourselves. A life of too much ease and comfort will usually result in weakness.
The secret is this: Change is easy. It’s easier than we think to make one, small, seemingly insignificant change, over time. NEGLECT is the REAL problem. When we neglect doing one little thing we know we should be doing for the next 10 years like walking every evening, we could end up having a heart attack just because we neglected to walk. Eat an ice cream sandwich every day instead of a piece of fruit and we will be overweight and out of shape in 10 years. We usually experience suffering which is self-inflicted through neglect.
When we practice the discipline it takes to do the one little thing we know we should be doing each day for the next 10 years, we will end up thanking ourselves we did. When we do the HARD THINGS that we don’t want to do, we get hard, and we earn confidence, competence, and a higher level of self-esteem.
RESULTS DON’T LIE. If we don’t like our current results, we can change. We can do things differently.
Today I will make a small, easy-to-do list of important things I know I should be doing, that will create a more balanced, healthy, and happy life for me and those around me. I will remember that bad situations are temporary, and This Too Shall Pass.
For a list of things I have experimented with, as part of a daily checklist or routine, that have helped me IMMENSELY, google THE GOODINTHEHEAD HABIT HACKING CHALLENGE.
The goodinthehead Habit-Hacking Challenge
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Remember: Mindset matters. Character counts. That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives. WE CREATE our realities.