98. Reasons For Not Doing Well

I drove past a gas station recently and had to a do a double take. 181.9?! Later on that day, a client went off on the fact his lunch, a small chicken breast, a couple veggies and a Coke Zero, set him back 50 bucks. The same day, a busy parent of 3 high school kids who all play sports was hoping that this might be the day she finally gets to take a nap and catch up on sleep. This day also happened to be the day someone else I know finally got in to see the physiotherapist after suffering through knee pain for 2 months. What else happened that day? Forest fires disrupted the air quality of British Columbia, inflation moved the wrong direction, somebody’s kid got cut from the rep team, a long term high paying customer cancelled and a new diagnosis started a timer on someone’s life.

Good grief do we ever have a case for not doing well.

Line ups are long, costs are high and can you even count on anyone these days? Everything seems uncertain, nobody knows what’s around the corner and there’s nothing any of us can do about it.

Or is there?

Here’s the thing. Adversity is either here, it just was, or it’s coming.

It’s like what Jim Rohn said when he was asked for an outlook on the 1990’s. He said it’ll be about like the 80’s were.

Trials and tribulations, victories and atrocities. They’ll all happen, so let’s get over it.

Too harsh?

Well, you can’t get under it and push it off. Our only choice is stepping up and pulling through. That is, unless you decide to get ahead of it.

We’ve talked about this before. It’s not about what happens because we can’t control that. It’s about what we do. So let’s prepare ourselves so we know what to do when the aforementioned events and those like them inevitably happen.

You might think that’s impossible, but it’s not, because with every day that passes, we can get stronger, we can get wiser and we can get better.

That list we keep of reasons we’re not doing well serves nobody, so let’s toss it.

I’m not too busy, gas isn’t too expensive, line ups aren’t too long and my questionable state of health will not hold me back from serving my life’s purpose. If we accept any of these excuses as truths, how can things ever be any better than they are today?

Is this as good as it gets? Have I become who I’m meant to become? If so, I suppose I’ll just continue to make the same excuses.

But I don’t think you believe this is it. There’s something in you that knows despite all the injustices in the world, things can be better. You might even believe that you can personally make a change in some of those injustices. I can’t guide you there, but I can guide you to a clever phrase often repeated by Dr. Joe Dispenza:

Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that things will get better if we don’t get better. You can wipe your calendar and start the week with a clean slate, but unless you’ve changed, you’ll end up living the same week again and again.

Things improve when people improve, so do your part. Ditch the lousy list of reasons for not doing well and start drafting what you’ll do to chart a new and improved course.

Personally, everything changed when I started reading, and that will always be my first piece of advice if ever you’re wondering how to change your life. Now, things continue to change when I call myself out by writing stuff like this.

Someone just yesterday was telling me they were in a funk and asked me what I do when I’m in one. My answer? I’ve gotta call myself out. I enter a funk when my list of reasons for not doing well floats back into my brain. When I start thinking of all the crap that makes my life hard, I suffer, and it’s not because of the crap, it’s because of me.

It becomes more evident that this is true when gas prices come down and you still feel broke. When you see the chiropractor but your knee still hurts. When you take the pills but still have no energy. All we’re left with is ourselves and that stinkin’ list.

Ditch the list and you’ll be on to something.

— Cody

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See you next Thursday.

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