The Seasons of Life I believe there are overriding principles that we should follow and be led by. That life is about constant, predictable patterns of change. And that as we approach the future; for all of us, the only constant factor will be our feelings and attitudes toward life. Secondly, we as human beings have the power of attitude and that attitude determines choice, and choice determines results. All that we are and all that we can become has indeed been left unto us to decide and interpret through our attitude and choices. Ill start by making two comments. First, life and business are like the changing seasons. Thats one of the best ways to illustrate life: its like the seasons that change. Second, you cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself Now with those two key phrases in mind, lets look at what I consider to be the first major lesson in life to learn, and that is how to handle the winters. They come regularly, right after autumn. Some are long, some are short, some are difficult, some are easy, but they always come right after autumn. That is never going to change. There are all kinds of winters—the “winter” when you cant figure it out, the “winter” when everything seems to go haywire. There are economic winters, social winters and personal winters. Wintertime can bring disappointment, and disappointment is common to all of us. So you must learn how to handle the winters of life. You must learn how to handle difficulty; it always comes after opportunity. You must learn to handle recessions; they come right after expansions. That isnt going to change. The big question is what do you do about winters? You cant get rid of January simply by tearing it off the calendar. But here is what you can do: you can get stronger; you can get wiser; and you can get better. Remember that trio of words: stronger, wiser, better. The winters wont change, but you can. Before I understood this, I used to wish it were summer when it was winter. When things were difficult, I used to wish they were easy. I didnt know any better. Then a wise man gave me the answer from a part of his very unique philosophy when he said, “Dont wish it were easier, wish you were better. Dont wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills. Dont wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom.” Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 15:12:29 +0000