CHOOSE YOUR RESPONSE

Note: This piece is culled from Terry Mante's book titled Attitude is Everything! Enjoy

THE winds of life always blow. Sometimes they blow towards the direction we are headed so we ride along comfortably. It is also possible for the winds to blow contrary to your course. Such a situation can inhibit your march to success. When you face opposition, what do you do. In his ministry, the Apostle Paul who is regarded as the most influential leader of the early church faced vehement opposition. He was battered, imprisoned, chained, criticised, betrayed and conspired against. In spite of all that, he told the Corinthian church that, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, NKJV).

Paul admits his storms but refuses to allow them to dictate the course of his life. In his moment of despondency, he acknowledges the grace of God as his strength and declares that “when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Inside out
You don’t have so much control over what happens to you but you can certainly determine your response to what happens to you. If (s)he refuses to marry you, it doesn’t mean your end has arrived. The end comes if you do not see beyond that person and move on. If you’ve messed up in any area of your life, don’t close the pages yet. You can begin a new chapter of your life. Irrespective of what happens, it is always possible to choose your response. When you fall, you can choose to either remain down or rise up. Don’t be reflexive in your reaction. Consciously choose your response.

From gloom to bloom
There is a man whose life gives me and many others so much inspiration. His parents were broke. His mother died when he was nine. His first attempt at business drove him into huge debts when his partner died suddenly. His initial bid to become a legislator in the local assembly failed miserably. There were times he had to walk several times to borrow textbooks just because he could not afford any means of transportation. Later on, he tried to secure the vice presidential slot of his nation but even his party’s nomination eluded him. He is someone whose life saw vicissitudes. It would be reasonable for any person who experiences this kind of life to count themselves as complete failures. The gentleman I’m talking about is the fellow we all know as the sixteenth president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln.

President Lincoln had every reason to terminate his life. But he did not! He chose to focus on his future possibilities rather than his immediate challenges. Like Lincoln, you too can decide to focus on the possibilities of your life and turn your stumbling blocks into stepping stones. He used the experience of his personal pain to take America through the soreness of the civil war which culminated in the capitulation of the despicable institution of slavery.

Go through
See your problems as signposts on your road to success. Matthew Ashimolowo entreats that, “There must be a process before prosperity. Tea bag must go through hot water to give off its flavour” Sally Aw Sian does not mince words when she says, “Life’s challenges spur you on to greater efforts, train you to meet subsequent challenges and finally provide you with the moral and spiritual fibre to avoid arrogance in success and despair in failure.”

Your present crises are part of your preparation towards your intended destination. See the advantages in them and learn the necessary lessons. Life is a journey; and that journey is not smooth. On the road of life, you will certainly encounter potholes, speed rumps, bridges and gutters. You have to manoeuvre your way through these impediments to arrive at your destination. When you hit a road block, don’t retreat. Keep moving!

© 2012 Terry Mante
Personal Development Network (PEDNET)
Accra, Ghana