Last night I gave a tiny inspirational speech at a meeting. Before and after speaking to a group I pray for God's help for organizing my thoughts, relaying a clear message, staying calm and most of all that my words positively touch at least 1 person in the room. In this case the group is all women with teenage daughters working together in a charity organization.
Currently I'm reading parts of a book called Positive Dog by Jon Gordon to the group. I read a bit aloud giving some examples and insight along the way. Last night I chose the "Challenges or Opportunities" chapter. In a nutshell the Positive Dog revolves around--while in a shelter-- an ole Dog Bubba giving the benefits of having a positive outlook on life to a younger dog named Matt. The Challenges chapter begins with Bubba saying "We all face challenges in our lives". Its our perspective that decides the outcome. He says, "We can choose to see adversity as a challenge or an opportunity." Isn't that the truth! I was reminded of a book entitled Failing Forward which is chalk full of successful people who encountered a slue of adversity before they were successful. Everything from death of family members, poor business decisions, cancer. While dealing with adversity, people like Truett Cathy (Chick-Fil-A), Mary Kay Ash, and Sergio Zyman (master mind of New Coke), looked for opportunity to turn their misfortune into fortune!
I shared how this rings true with the parenting journey. We all will continually face"parenting adversity". When faced with the hard times, we don't give up! Sometimes we struggle with how to deal with a situation. Sometimes we may say things we wish we hadn't. Sometimes we may have to apologize. There's such beauty in forgiveness. We must always keep our eye on the big picture. We ALL will be faced with hard times in this life. NO ONE is immune. It's something we ALL have in common.However, we ALL also have a decision with how we react to a given situation, tragedy or crisis. I love the questions that Bubba gives Matt when dealing with adversity. He says ask yourself, " What can I learn from this experience? How can I grow from it? What do I do now?" Of course when in the thick of it, you may not be able to answer all these questions. I believe, sometimes we are initially paralyzed in a given tough situation. We need time to digest. Time to mourn. As time goes by, we CAN choose to answer the questions. Your future success depends on it. Success includes learning from past experiences and NOT repeating the same mistakes. Growing positively from tough situations. Sometimes easier said than done!
Quote from Failing Forward-Believe you have the potential to overcome any problems and misfortunes. All you have to do is learn to fail forward.
Bubba ends his converstation with Matt by telling him when faced with the challenge of living in the shelter, he decided to use it as an opportunity to help others. He doesn't know if someone will ever adopt an ole dog like him. But while he's waiting he's making the best of his time by giving back to and helping others.
