Knocked Out and Getting Up!

I think I’ve mentioned this quote before, but I want to say it again. It was overused for a while, so I stayed away from it. The great Mike Tyson was quoted as saying “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”. I can’t remember when or where I first heard that, but I loved it the second I heard it. It just made sense to me. Everyone seems ready for whatever is going to happen, until it actually happens. When things are easy, everyone acts like a winner. They act like nothing can stop them, until something shows up and gets in their way. Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that can derail us. But what happens if Tyson does punch us in the mouth. What happens if we go down for the ten count? What happens if we get knocked down three times before the end of the first round? Does that mean that we walk away never to be heard from again?

What’s in Front of Me?

I’ve never been in a boxing ring, but I would imagine that before you hit the mat, you have a few moments of brain fog. You’re trying to figure out where you are, and waiting for instincts to kick in, but nothing is happening. You can’t tell if your eyes are open or closed. How do I know what my next move is when I can’t see anything in front of me? That was my storm. I had so many things going on at one time that I couldn’t see in front of me anymore. I thought that the only way to get through it was to cross things off of my list and then I would be able to see again. The problem was that every time I crossed something off my list, I added three more things.

One Decision

It all started with one simple decision, make sure no matter what, you enjoy the time with your son. When I left for work, I kept telling myself that over and over again. I mentioned last week how the story ended that day. I went out with my son; I had a great time and after that, things started to really clear up. I spent the whole weekend seeing the positives in everything. I was doing the same exact things I had been doing for the last year, but for some reason this time it felt different. Choosing to be positive in one area made me positive in other areas. Before the weekend was over, I had a long conversation with myself. It started with me asking myself how much of the negativity in my life was self-inflicted. It’s so easy to blame other people. When I look back at things that happened over the last twelve months, I had things happen that would frustrate anyone. These were events that, to be honest, were life changing. None of them on the surface were positive. That was part of the issue for me, when I was negative about something, it felt like everyone was telling me that my negativity was justified. I also didn’t feel like there was a big shift. I knew I was more negative, but I felt like I was still being more positive than most people would be after dealing with those situations.

Can Change be Good?

The last few weeks have been way different for me. I have worked more days than I have in the last year. Having a positive outlook has made me feel healthier and more prepared to handle all the issues that come up during the week. Little things aren’t taking me over the edge. I can’t count how many times something small would happen and I would act like it was the end of the world. I have a lot more energy than I had before, and I am starting to read a lot more. I’ve always been a reader, but now it seems like instead of reading for ten minutes I want to read for thirty minutes or more. This has led me to thinking about more of the issues I see everywhere and wanting to find solutions. My daily routine hasn’t changed, my diet hasn’t changed. The only thing that I can point to is my attitude. Instead of thinking about the projects or people that I don’t like dealing with, I choose to think about the ones I enjoy dealing with. I’m excited to see what happens over the next few months. Will this lead to some positive changes? Maybe with more energy and insight I’ll start writing more than one article a week! Go out and have a great week and be positive!