Pick yourself up, dust yourself off

Have you ever had so many things go wrong in your life that you thought there was no way your life story would ever change? There seemed to be no end to good things turning sour? It can happen to any of us.

I know a woman who experienced that for more than a year. Her story included disrespectful bosses, two job losses in a short time, relationship disappointments, family dysfunction making her life miserable and so much more.  Some days she was so discouraged—and it all brought her to tears.

However, she's the kind of woman who not only survives, she finds a way to thrive—like the lone flower that pokes its head out through the rock and blooms. So somehow through all the clouds and gloom, she kept on keeping on. She prayed. She kept connections open with those friends on whom she could count for support. She made use of resources such as positive affirmations and mantras to keep her thoughts as forward-looking and positive as she could. And she kept reaching out to others who needed care, love and support, too. She's the type of person who is fed by helping others.

She has now landed a job that seems to fit with her gifts—and is reframing as many of the other negatives in her life as she can. She's shaking off what cannot be changed and instead, changing her response and her attitude toward those things. And she's choosing to stay positive about life even though not everything is just as she'd hoped.

It's another reminder to me of the value of choosing hope, choosing to stay positive. It's a reminder, too, of the truth of the Jerome Kern lyrics, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again." Life is so much better when we do that than when we wallow in our negativity. What's your choice today?