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Carolyn Smagalski
Adversity
Founder - Editor - Host
"There's a type of freedom that occurs when everything that
you've believed in and worked for is shattered, because then
you have the opportunity to rebuild and to put yourself back
together in a new way," wrote Dennis Kucinich (1946- ), best
known for being elected mayor of Cleveland at the youthful age
of 31, and for his 2004 bid for Presidency of the United
States.
There are times in everyone's life when the going gets tough.
It may be in relation to your business, financial matters,
issues with your teenage children, challenges with health, or
personal issues that rip at your guts. These are all negative
influencers that pull at your hopes and dreams...that erode
your positive attitude. They can have a devastating effect if
you allow them the freedom to destroy your dreams. The key is
to refuse to take these matters as personal assaults.
You have a list of values, don't you? If you don't, it is
time to make one. Money alone cannot be the focus of your
mission statement - otherwise, you would be satisfied with
making money by any means, including sacrificing the lives of
family and friends, and using others in any way in order to
get money. The reason you have not done that is due to your
values.
Create your personal list of values, and what they mean to
you. Then read them daily, in conjunction with your statement
of definite purpose. "Men can starve from a lack of
self-realization as much as they can from a lack of bread,"
said Richard Wright.
If you stay focused on your values and purpose, you will be
able to repel the adversities in your life with greater
strength. You will begin to see how these challenges
strengthen you or give you a new perspective.
Let me give you an example. A pick-up truck hit my son Tyler
when he was a fifteen-year-old. He nearly died, and remained
in a coma for 10 days. Throughout the next several weeks, he
remained paralyzed. The doctor who led the team would address
the group, "One child in one thousand will recover from this
severe state. We will treat this child as that ONE."
As Tyler's mother, I would applaud this doctor's persistence
in my gut, and vowed to help make it happen.
Over the next several months, Tyler did recover. He had to
re-learn how to swallow, sit, hold his head up, stand, walk,
read, talk, sing, run, jump, do math, manipulate eating
utensils and play video games. It was like watching a baby
develop in fast-forward. When your baby learns new things,
it happens over a long period of time. You delight in each
new accomplishment, but the remarkable miracle of this
development becomes an expectation.
As the parent of a teenager who needs to repair this
development, the wonder of the human body and the human mind
is staggering! The idea of life intensifies in your spirit,
and you begin to understand that each person is given talents
that are unique - even if your only talent is to infuse
another with the confidence to keep on keeping on!
Our family motto is, "We never give up. Never, never, never,
never, never!" It has pulled us through the challenges, and
applies to daily life more than one could imagine.
Take your challenges, and see the good in them. Find the
opportunity. Work with them, and "put your life back together
in a new way."
Content copyright © 2003-2008 by Carolyn Smagalski. All rights
reserved. This content was written by Carolyn Smagalski.
If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need
written permission.
Contact Carolyn Smagalski
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Skills for
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Persistence in the
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