You Get To

You get to wake up early and get after it. 

You get to go to work and give it your all. 

You get to workout, lift heavy things and sweat. 

You get to choose good, nutritious foods. 

You get to pick your kids up from school. 

You get to go home and spend time with your family. 

You don't have to, YOU GET TO. 

You're reading this, so that means your alive today. You have breath in your lungs and you get another glorious day to love, work hard and cherish. 

Don't waste it with a cruddy attitude. 

Soon your race will be run. Soon your life will reach its end. 

What will you have done with the time you've been given? 

Will you squander it and all its glory with a bad mindset? 

Or will you focus on all the things you get to do, relishing and marveling at the fact that you and only you get to do them? 

The power of positive thinking

There is power in positive thinking. Although, it’s not the power you’ve been led to believe.

Positivity won’t suddenly bend the laws of nature and society to your will and make all your dreams come true. It’s not a magic weapon or secret to unlocking your best life now. 

It is a remarkably useful and essential tool to have on your toolbelt. 

Having a positive outlook and attitude improves your performance. 

One reason is that your emotions and thoughts aren’t an extra hurdle for you to climb. 

You can focus your energy and think about the actual problems in the real world, instead of the ones in your head. 

Why create more stress and work for yourself by thinking negatively? 

It might be a difficult habit to break, but it’s one worth it. 

Practice finding the good in every situation and focusing on it. Then set to banishing negativity from your mind. 

Attitude Over Circumstances

The quality of your life and character isn’t determined by circumstances external to you—the things that happen to you. Both are determined by the internal choices and decisions you make in light of them. 

Which is good news because you can actually do something about them. 

“It is not as important to change our circumstances,” Tim Keller says, “as it is to change our heart’s attitude and stance toward them.” 

Your attitude is the key to turning even the worst situation around. How you think drives everything else. 

It’s easy to have a positive attitude when things are going well. But it’s a different story when they’re not. Those are the moments you need encouragement from a good friend. I want to be that good friend for you today, and remind you of a few things. 

Every situation (good or bad) has the potential to shape and impact you for the better. It might be hard and nearly impossible to get through, but it can make you tougher, stronger, and better if you’ll let it. The mental game is always the hardest part of any battle. Staying positive and upbeat when the waves are crashing about you is perhaps the most difficult thing you face on a regular basis. 

When things aren’t going well, I want you to remember what good things it could mean for you. Opportunities to grow and learn. Opportunities to be a better version of yourself today than you were yesterday. Opportunities that remind you why you’re here in the first place.

Check your thoughts the next time you find yourself in the damp dark pit of self-pity. Remind yourself that you’ve still got gas in the tank and some fight left in you. You’re not that easy to beat. You will never quit. You’re tough enough to hang in there and find the silver lining to even the darkest cloud. A silver lining that keeps you pushing forward and driving on when things are at their lowest. 

Lead With Your Weaknesses

You're not perfect. Whether it's sarcasam, responding out of anger or not delivering on your commitments, you make dozens of mistakes each and every day. The temptation to hide and minimize your mistakes is overwhelming because the first thing you want to do is run as far from them as possible. 

While this is your natural tendency it might not always be the best strategy for responding to failure. Our failures provide us with an opportunity to take giant steps forward and helps us connect with others. Today, I want to encourage you not to run from or hide your failures but to embrace and share them openly. 

Display your authentic self. Openly discussing your short comings and failures knocks down the dividing wall and allows others to connect with you. Whether you are aware of it or not there is a dividing wall between you and those you impact and lead. Often times that wall of division is the gap between who you truly are and others perception of you. The quickest way to shrink this gap is to authentically share your struggles and failures. The fear in doing so is that it will change how people see you. The funny thing is that this fear is 100% true. They will see you differently, just not in the way you fear they will. 

Part of the reason people lean in and see you more positively when you share your struggles is that they can relate. People aren't perfect and they know it. They already know you aren't perfect either and that you make mistakes because you're human. Opening up and leading with your weakness displays confidence not the lack there of. People will follow a leader who doesn't run from his short comings. 

Be known for owning your stuff. The next time you drop the ball or just blow it, seize it for the opportunity that it is and own it. Do far more than acknowledge that you messed up, ask those impacted by your failure to forgive you. Trust me, this is a trait you want to be known for. It displays a humble heart, empowers others and will transform your relationships.     

Your Not in Control

You want to be in control. You desire control over your surroundings and over all your outcomes in life so you work hard and put in long hours. Sleepless nights and caffine are the rent you pay and rent is due every day.

Hustling is important. One of the many traits that turns up time after time when studying the successful is that they run at a different pace than everyone else around them. In short, they hustle. No matter the field and no matter the role get after it. 

To acheive your dreams and accomplish your goals, you are going to have to work extremely hard but be careful not to buy the lie that everything rests within your grasp. 

You can't force results. No matter how many hours you put in or how hard you work you can't force success to happen. Many things are beyond your control. You can do everything right and the deal still doesn't go your way and that's okay. As I've said before, the power is in the process.   

You are responsible for the process. You are accoutable for doing your part. Do the things that accompany success. Order your habits, attidudes, and character. Show up early, remain diligent and stay late if you need you, but remember that those things are just part of the process.  

Find rest in your limits. Labor hard and hustle but also rest in the knowldege that results are ultimately outside your control. There is a certain level of peace that comes from knowing that you have given your all. Give your all and lay it all on the line every day and you'll be able to hold your head high whether the results come or not.