Life happens.
Rev. Dr. Steven Koski
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The definition of stress is when the demands of life exceed your “perceived” resources to meet those demands. We focus on the demands of life and like a magnifying glass they appear bigger.
When is the last day that went exactly as you planned or hoped? If you have had such a day I suggest you get out of bed. Life rarely goes the way we plan. Life happens. Most of what happens is beyond our control. What we control is how we respond to what happens. Everything shifts when we stop obsessing about the demands of life and start exploring the resources we have to meet those demands.
You stand paralyzed in your tracks if you stare at the height of the mountain, complain about the size of the mountain, tell whoever will listen how impossibly high the mountain is and grumble it is so unfair the mountain is in your path.
We have a backpack for the journey. There are resources in your backpack that will give you everything you need for the climb. You have far more resources than you realize. Emerson wrote, “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.”
A father and daughter were at the fair. The little girl was carrying a stick holding a huge amount of cotton candy. The father looked at his little girl and said, “Honey, how in the world are you going to eat all of that?” The little girl looked up at her dad and excitedly said, “Daddy, I’m much bigger on the inside than I am on the outside!”
This isn’t Pollyanna positive thinking denying the size of the mountains we face. Life is hard. The struggle is real. The mountains are foreboding. This is encouraging you to stop giving the mountain, whatever that is for you, so much power and claim your own power. This is reminding you that you are stronger than you think you are. It’s okay if you don’t know what’s in your backpack. It might be enough today to know you have a backpack filled with resources.
See what happens if you shift your focus from the demands and become curious about the resources you have to meet those demands. You might be surprised at what you find.