Recently my elder brother had a sudden heart attack, which was shocking for me and the whole family because he had been adapting very healthy lifestyle – with regular exercise and healthy eating. He had to have an emergency operation in a strange city without his better half next to him. He pulled through and is on the road to recovery. But I noticed something strange during the time. I always felt that nothing will happen to him. Deep down I knew that the operation will be successful, and he will recover.

On reflection I felt that there is an inherent belief, that nothing truly bad will happen to us. We have been taught since our childhood that good things happen to good people. It is in our belief system that if we do good deeds, we will always find good thing happening in our life. I will call it Hope and optimism.  Not false hope, not hype, but balanced optimism – a belief that things really will work out.

We each have inner fortitude and strength that is mightier than we realize. Of course, it doesn’t always feel this way. Storms may obscure mountains, but this doesn’t mean the mountain isn’t there.

Bad weather erupts in our lives through circumstances we don’t like, such as writer’s block, naysayers, rejection, and other challenges. Worse than being lost in mental agitation is identifying with it. When I merge with my insecure thinking, inner gremlins spew, you’re not good enough, or no one cares what you have to say?

If I want to fly as a writer and as a person, I must begin with awareness. I listen to my interior flight instructor who whispers, Get up. Do something. Even if you can’t write. Go to a Show or a movie. Read a good book. Take a swim, a hike, or a bath. Talk to a friend. Ignore your inner naysayers. Rejoice in your gifts.

 I want to focus on good things, positive things.  There are plenty of scary and depressing things in our world, and they seem to get top billing much of the time.  But I found that if I spend too much time thinking about the bad, the ugly, the scary, it bleeds over into how I view the world.  It discourages me, depresses me, and sometimes frightens me.

I am not talking about putting my head in the sand.  I understand that difficulties are part of life.  But I believe in healthy balance.  “Balance in all things.”  So I try to balance out the scary stuff with the wholesome stuff.  I call it Optimism.

How many of us give up just before we are poised for amazing breakthroughs?

How many of us spend our time turned around backward in the seat looking at missed opportunities or bungled relationships or fumbled decisions?

How many of us miss the awesome opportunity which lies just around the next corner? we are who we are because of the path we walk. Along the way, there are twists and turns that we cannot foresee. Sometimes we walk along a smooth path, sometimes we stumble on a path filled with obstacles and hidden snares. And at other times, tragedy befalls us.

Sometimes we follow the footpath of our choosing, at other times we are carried down a road that we did not choose. No matter, either way the path is ours to navigate.

What is my Talent?

The heart is a powerful thing. Things that we allow in affect us. They surface in our life as something that strengthens us or perhaps as something that weakens or even hurts us.

Some of us are reluctant to let our true selves be seen. Perhaps we are fearful of rejection or being laughed at. Maybe we don’t want others to feel as though we are hogging the spotlight or trying to show off or take their position.  Maybe we lack confidence or are just plain discouraged. But each of us has been given a talent of some sort. It may be fundamental or maybe quirky, but it is a part of who we are.

Stephen King is one of the most widely read authors on the planet. His books have sold over 350 million copies. It all started with a little book he wrote in his “study” – the laundry area of his house trailer. Discouraged, King threw the original manuscript in the trash. His wife found it and gave it back to him, telling him to finish it. He did. The book was a little story called Carrie. King, who was earning less than $7,000 per year at the time, sold the paperback rights of the book that his wife dug out of the trash – for $400,000!

Don’t hide your talent. Let it out and share it with the world.

What are my Values?

 I wonder how many times I missed the best option available because I didn’t think through the consequences of my decision.  How many times have I inadvertently wasted an opportunity because I was in a hurry? Have I settled for less than the best because I didn’t listen to good advice or spend a little time in research? And most important of all – how many times have I wished I could have a do-over because I didn’t make a decision that was in line with my values?

Now, don’t get me wrong, we all make mistakes. We all have things in our past we wish we could change. Focusing too much or too long on things that we can’t change is a sure way to become discouraged, so let’s not go there.

But if we are wise, we owe it to ourselves to learn from the past so that we can always be improving.  We can learn from our own past, as well as the lives of others.  And that is the purpose for this question – what do I value?

It isn’t necessarily just a financial question.  Our values extend into every area of our life.  Relationships, moral views, work ethic, faith, family – the list is long and varied.  Our values are just that – things that have value to us.  A value is a belief, a philosophy, a viewpoint – something that has meaning to us.  A value influences our decisions, and guides how we spend our time and resources.  Values provide a foundation upon which we build our career, our relationships, and our life.  Do your decisions reflect your values? Your values can change the world, one decision at a time, one action at a time.

Values help us communicate what is important to our family, friends, and business associates. Values help us focus on what is important. Values drive and inspire us to achievement. Values demonstrate and help shape our character. Values demonstrate our uniqueness

Mother Teresa valued the poor and sick, those that society had mostly forgotten.  Despite personal pain, discomfort and serious health issues, she spent nearly half a century investing in them, because they had value to her.

Galileo publicly defended his scientific views on heliocentrism.  He was mocked by his peers, accused of heresy by the church, and denied the opportunity to publish his work. Ultimately, he was jailed for his views.  He spent the rest of his life under house arrest for his beliefs, because they had value to him.

What do I Believe?

 Someone once said, “whether you believe you can or you can’t – you’re right!” Well, Roger Bannister believed that he could.

 “It is not a dream. It is my reality.” – Roger Bannister

 No one had ever run a four-minute mile – it was considered impossible for a human being. But Roger Bannister believed that he could break the “impossible” barrier. So, on March 6, 1954 at Oxford University, he set out to break the record. In the first 2 laps, he was ahead of pace, but three-fourths of the way into the race, he fell behind the pace needed to break the record. Things looked grim. But 300 yards from finish line, he went into his kick. The crowd was on their feet, cheering him on. He collapsed in a heap as he crossed the line. 3:59.4 seconds.

Amazingly, his record was broken 46 days later.   

  Once one person broke the “impossible” barrier, others followed quickly. In fact, a four-minute mile is now the standard for professional runners. The mile record has been lowered by 17 seconds! It wasn’t impossible after all! It was just a matter of belief.

Krantz was the flight director of Apollo 13. And although he didn’t know it at the time, Eugene Krantz was about to experience the test of a lifetime.  How he responded to the crisis has become the stuff of legend.

 Two days into the mission, an oxygen tank exploded, ripping through the spaceship Odyssey.  She was 200,000 miles from earth, traveling at a rate of 2,000 mph.  Two of her three fuel cells were malfunctioning, temperature was dropping inside the cabin, and she was losing oxygen and power.

The only hope for the crew was to somehow use the moon’s gravity to slingshot the Odyssey back to earth.  Only there wasn’t enough power for the three-day trip to get the crew home.  But the biggest challenge facing the crew was carbon-dioxide buildup inside the cabin.  Unless this problem could be solved, the crew would suffocate.  And assuming this could be solved, another serious issue faced them – re-entry.

The angle for re-entering the earth’s atmosphere had to be perfect.  Too shallow, and the Odyssey would bounce off the atmosphere like a rock skipping across the surface of a lake.  The ship and crew would ricochet into space and be lost forever.  Too sharp, and the friction of re-entry would cremate the ship.  And to control the angle would require power – which the Odyssey did not have.

During the crisis, one of the NASA Directors approached Eugene Krantz and said, “This could be the worst disaster NASA has ever faced.”  To which Krantz replied, “With all due respect sir, I believe this will be our finest hour.”

As it turned out, it was in fact NASA’s finest hour. All three of the Astronauts returned safely to earth, because Eugene Krantz believed it would be and acted on that belief.

A wise man once wrote, “As you think in your heart, so you are.” What do we think in our heart? What are we feeding our heart and our spirit? What do we read? What do we watch or listen to? What are the seeds that we plant in our mind and heart, and what harvest will they bring?

The world is filled with plenty of fear and friction. It has dread and disaster to spare. We live in the middle of a never-ending barrage of negativity, sensationalism, fear and “what-if” scenarios. How do you counter all that noise? Hide some good things in your heart.

Find some good things to plant there. Positive things, worthwhile things. Make sure that you read something every day that will help you grow. It can be anything- Scripture, personal growth books, inspirational articles. Search for the keys, the secrets, the treasures that you know will feed your spirit.

Make sure to filter what you choose to listen to. I don’t mean that you should stick your head in the sand, but don’t allow negative, fear-laced rhetoric to be planted in your spirit.

Finally, I would like to talk about another leader He was a powerful leader and studied with some of the greatest legal and philosophical minds of his day. He dealt with physical limitations, depression and rejection. He was beaten and even jailed unfairly. But he never lost his optimism. He summed up his secret in a letter he wrote to some friends. He had many reasons to focus on the unfair, the painful and the discouraging aspects of his life, but he chose instead to look at the good around him.  He advised others to do the same.    He wrote, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Apostle Paul wrote this in one of the letters he wrote to the Christan community he had established in Macedonia. That was good advice when he wrote it, and it is good advice now.