by Steve Beseke, beseke1@earthlink.net
I think too often we don’t give ourselves enough credit as we try to successfully navigate the currents of our professional and personal lives. We just look at the setbacks and sometimes discount the resilient and positive decisions made everyday.
An example of mine: Because of my physical disability (Cerebral Palsy), I have fallen hundreds of times in my 50 years and struggle to sometimes get back up without too many people noticing. Instead of worrying about image and people seeing me, I should always be very, very thankful I can still walk – whether it is with my cane or independently.
I typically do, and my attitude is to get up and walk for as long as I can. But I sometimes – like any of us – dive into the murky waters of lost confidence and even depression at some points in my life.
What are you thinking about at this point in your life that has you a bit on edge? Yes, come on, all of us deal with such chasms once in a while. Is it your job? Lack of one? Your personal relationships? No matter what they are, I have found that your attitude is absolutely key in helping swim through potentially menacing currents to see clearly what is truly important in life.
How have you swam through the currents in your orbit? I’m sure nine times out of 10 you have made the right decisions and found a successful way to deal with life’s stresses. Unfortunately, we sometimes needlessly worry about the one instance.
I could very easily live off of society’s sympathy and understanding. Instead, I have tried to use my disability as a rallying call for myself to attempt to help others worldwide who are struggling with their own challenging currents. I am humbled that my worldwide web site and speeches have resiliently affected so many from Saudi Arabia to China to South America and the States.
By talking with each of you openly about my life and career resiliency challenges, it has taught me to accept myself for who I am. This same lesson can be applied to you the next time one of those professional or personal “currents” sweep you off the course you expected.
While some of you are doing great in this economy, other good folks have had economic waves tip over their boat – so to speak – with little or no fault of their own. As I have found with age and physical disability, however, some of the currents you can’t control, but you have to navigate and steer your way through the best you can.
That’s why attitude is so important. I would not have thrived without knowing I am not going to give up my walking independence without a monumental fight. I’ve been so lucky to have a very successful career, and a truly wonderful wife and family. I have rarely settled for anything. To this end, I suggest you never settle for situations you know are right or you can have influence. You can have a resilient effect on your attitude every single moment of your life.
I sometimes walk with a cane now, but a friend so beautifully told me recently to never give up the attitude that I may not need the cane in the future. She was absolutely right, and I am now not resigned to adapting to less independence. Some day I will walk without a cane again. My attitude is revved up.
Are you revved up about yourself? Where is your attitude about you these days? Do you believe in yourself? I truly hope so because there is no better person in your life than you!
Take care of yourself, and you’ll be able to navigate those unwanted currents in your life.
Thanks, again, for helping me become a humble voice of resiliency worldwide. Until next week…