Moving Forward Through Discontent...

Hi again!

You may have noticed that I've been absent that last few days, and that's very nice of you to be paying such close attention. It kinda makes me feel 'special' in a non-'Special Olympics' sorta way...

Anyway, my brief disappearence into the void has been due to a small, not very percievable explosion within my very unappreciated (until recently) computer hard drive. Apparently my hard drive had made a deal with the devil because as of Saturday afternoon, it became officially 'corrupted'.

Well, as you can imagine, I was stunned and feeling very betrayed. After all... my lovely laptop and I have spend many wonderful, and excitement filled hours together in the last few years. For it to just stop working without even saying 'Goodbye' was disturbing to say the least.

Ok... so I've rambled enough about how suprised and caught off guard I was when my computer decided to stop working. This brings me to the point that I wanted to make tonight.

At the moment of the spontaneous combustion within my beloved companion, I stood at a crossroads... Should I freak out because the last 3 years of my life were locked within a silcone coffin, or should I choose the 'high road' and trust that everything truly happens for the best? I can tell you that my initial, panic stricken reaction was 'When did I last back my data up?'

But once I got past this initial 'Gulp' reaction, I realized that what happend next was up to me and my paradigm. This is where I was able to use one of the most powerful tools that has ever come into my life... the tool is what I call 'Recontextualization'.

Recontextualization means taking anything- good, bad, or ugly- and choosing to see it in it's most useful context. In otherwords, looking for the lesson, or silver lining, in everything that happens.

In my predicatment, I could have jumped ship and started screaming for help when my computer decided to revolt, or I could have looked for an opportunity to learn, grow, or improve from this apparent setback.

As it turns out, I passed the test and chose the latter.

After talking with my computer guy, I saw this as a chance to upgrade my nearly full hard drive, and reinstall my 2 1/2 year old windows operating system.

Granted, this meant a lot of extra work and toil, but it did offer a chance for a clean slate with my operating system, software downloads, and a chance to do some 'spring cleaning' on so many of the random things that had crept into my computer over the years.

So you see... it wasn't exactly the end of the world- Thankfully.

Now... what does this have to do with you and your precious life? Good question...

The answer is- how do you handle things when they don't go your way? Do you A) 'jump ship' immediatly and go into 'I need a straight jacket' mode? B) stick your head in the sand and hide from the issue? Or C) do you assess the situation and look for how you can learn, grow, or improve from this 'illusion' of a step backward?

If you chose 'C' then you're on the right track! Congratulations! (we'll have to throw a party later)

But for now, let's talk about why. You see... Life happens- plain and simple.

Sometimes it's good (see "winning the lottery") and sometimes not so good- but the truth is that 'what happens' is NOT nearly as important as how we view the 'happenings' and then take action.

Everyone has 'Good' and 'Bad' things happen... right? Even the super good looking, in shape, rich guy has 'Bad' stuff happen to him... The major difference is how we choose to view this happenings.

Are they 'The world beating us down?' or do you see them as chances to prove your greatness and an opportunity to improve and grow? Guess which point of view truly successful and wealthy people choose?

That's right. They Recontextualize the 'Bad' things to be necessary lessons that will allow them to grow and achieve even greater results in their life...

It's like a Father who makes his kids learn how to take care of themselves through doing homework, chores, etc. The kids see this as a terrible fate to be suffered in misery- but amazingly, they are greatful for the skills they aquired from these lessons once they are in the real world.

So which is it gonna be for you? Are you going to be the ungrateful, pouting child? Or the wide eyed, eager student?

The choice is yours...

Try recontextualizing the 'Bad' things that happen in your life in the next 30 days. Look for, and learn, the lessons that life is offering you- and see what happens!

Until next time!
Derick Van Ness