Don't Get Discouraged!
Times Are Tough, But An Upbeat Outlook Will Prevail
by Michael D. Hume, M.S.
Today, the news is dominated by the story of 33 Chilean miners being rescued after 69 days trapped more than two thousand feet below the Earth's surface. It's a profound story of love, faith, redemption, and of the bright side of human nature. Look at what we can do for each other when we put forth our best efforts!
Metaphorically speaking, we are all trapped underground at different times in our lives. Maybe there was a time when your job, for instance, made you feel like a king in a castle... but now (after things went badly and shook your confidence) you feel trapped under the rubble of it all. Perhaps you are feeling your age, and what was once a strong body that would obey your every command now feels trapped under years of fat-building sloth and avarice. Maybe you used to wake up with smile on your face and a song in your heart, but now, after a steady diet of bad news and setbacks, you feel like you're trapped in a funeral procession. On bad days, it can even feel like your own!
They say you are what you eat... I think the same is true of your mind. You want to be informed and engaged, but with so much bad news out there, it's hard to feed your mind anything like a balanced diet, and it's easy to slide into negativity, anxiety, even depression. Great, positive stories like today's report on the miner rescue do seem to come by too infrequently - so take some time today to absorb it. Reflect on how heroic the rescuers have been, and how patient and faithful the miners must've been. Is there a lesson in all this for you? Like the miners being pulled back to the surface, see if you can pull something up out of yourself that will help you escape whatever's trapping you. It may be as simple as the realization that, for all your troubles and woes, you have it good. You are lucky. You're blessed. You've been sleeping in a bed for the last 69 days, not in a smelly hole half-a-mile below the ground.
Then, take action. Action is the best prescription against the greatest threat to your well-being (worry). If your job is crumbling, make a new one for yourself. Starting a home-based business could be like drilling a hole to the surface through which you can escape if things go badly. If you're feeling fat and lazy, make a change... you can at least start drinking more water, taking a good vitamin, and refusing some of the processed food-garbage you sometimes find within your reach.
And you can seek out the good news. Upbeat, "feel good" stories are hard to find these days (and you REALLY want to mute those campaign commercials)... but if you dig around, occasionally you find a nugget of pure gold.
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