ADJUSTING THE SAILS
"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails."
- John Maxwell
Sometimes bad things happen to good people. What do you do when the sky suddenly turns black and fierce, and the winds of life swirl against you? You could choose to be a victim. You could feel sorry for yourself and whine about how unfairly you've been treated. Unfortunately, hosting your own pity party is a lot like playing an electric guitar on a street corner - it may attract a certain amount of sympathetic attention but it likely won't turn your life around.
Another choice is to hope
things get better. Optimism definitely beats moping around with a long face.
But while a positive mental attitude is good medicine, by itself it's
insufficient. It's great to stay hopeful, but hope alone is not enough.
A third option is to seize the opportunity to re-envision,
re-calibrate, and then re-direct your journey. Sometimes, when the winds are
hard in your face, you notice hidden treasures you overlooked while sailing in
calmer waters. Sometimes, when you confront adversity with ingenuity,
flexibility, and resilience, you develop innovative and previously-unimagined
ways to do your job, to run your business, to live your life. Sometimes when
bad things happen to good people, they batten down the hatches, adjust the
sails, and in the midst of the storm discover the inside passage to the
promised land.
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