In Admiral William McCraven’s great little book, Make Your Bed, he writes, “Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, or hardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, without occasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.”
Things are not always going to go your way, which is frustrating, unnerving, disappointing, and sometimes downright heartbreaking.
How you handle the curve ball thrown at you and your plans, though, is what is important.
How you learn to move around the obstacle so that you continue the pursuit of what you seek is even more important.
How you stay solid in your belief of what you want, and in your belief of what is possible for you, perhaps by another means (or even the same means, though it might take longer because you have other lessons to learn before you obtain your goal) is what is crucial.
Think Sylvester Stallone in his mission of getting Rocky, starring himself, onto the big screen.
Think Joy Mangano, the American inventor and entrepreneur who is best known for creating the self-wringing mop and her subsequent shot to success after demonstrating how to use the mop on QVC (this story, depicted in the movie Joy, is one of my favorite, most inspirational stories).
Think Walt Disney, Chris Gardner (The Pursuit of Happiness), Oprah Winfrey (once told a baked potato would do better in the interviewer chair than she would), JK Rowling, (“don’t quit your day job”) the list goes on and on….
Things don’t always go the way we planned.Sometimes it seems like the law of attraction isn’t on our side.This is often when people give up, instead of hanging through the discomfort and darkness that comes from your “failed” plans.
I like to believe it’s all a test.And that the law of attraction is really asking: How bad do you want it?
The next time something doesn’t go your way, consider subscribing to Paulo Coelho’s advice: “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”
For more on the subject of When Things Don’t Go Your Way, tune into our weekly podcast HERE! Now listened to in over 26 countries….
Jill Sylvester is a licensed mental health counselor, author of the Nautilus award winning book,”Trust Your Intuition: 100 Ways to Transform Anxiety and Depression for Stronger Mental Health,” and host of the “Trust Your Intuition Podcast.” She is also the creator of Planting the Seeds, a Mom’s Choice Award winning line of social and emotional tools and curriculum for parents and teachers. Her work has been featured in Well+Good, Bustle, SheKnows, WorkingMother, Parenthood, TeenMentor, and OprahMag.com. For more information, please subscribe at www.jillsylvester.com or like us on Instagram at @Jill_Sylvester or @Plantingtheseedscards.The Innovation