About 7 years ago I was diagnosed with glandular fever. It affected me seriously for about 18 months.
As a personal trainer, it made life incredibly challenging. As a mother raising two young children it was exhausting. Running a business and a household on my own, it brought me to the end of my tether.
Ever since, I’ve struggled on and off with periods of time which I call ‘the tireds’. A few days here, one day there. I can feel fine for months on end and then I can have a day where I feel so exhausted I can barely lift my arms to hold onto the steering wheel.
It’s an awful feeling.
As doctors explained to me at the time of being diagnosed, once the virus that causes the symptoms becomes activated in the body, it pretty much sticks around for good and it can come and go at any time.
There’s no cure and nothing I can take to make it go away. The only solution is to listen to my body and rest when I feel it.
I don’t tell you this to make you feel sorry for me. It is what it is and I’m sure there are thousands of people battling with the same thing every day.
I’m telling you this because I’m also sure that you have something that challenges you, brings you down or makes your life difficult at times too. An illness. An event. A person. A situation. I want to get you thinking about what you do in those moments.
When the chips are down.
Do you jump on Facebook and whinge to the world about how miserable your life is? Do you feel sorry for yourself and moan and groan to everyone around you about how hard your life is? Do you use your problem as an excuse?
Or do you deal with it and get on with it.
I have been so fortunate in my life to know some of the most incredible people who are dealing and have dealt with unimaginable hardship. And they are the most positive, optimistic, grateful and giving people. Despite challenges I can’t imagine having to face, they not only get on with life but they use their experiences to enhance their own life and inspire others.
And it’s all about the choices they make each day in reaction to their circumstance.
Life isn’t perfect and its not meant to be. If you expect it to be all roses, you’ll be forever frustrated and disappointed. You’ll be angry and resentful, all the time. Your expectations will never be met.
The challenges you face and the way you deal with them, can define you as a person and they can define your path through this life. They can certainly make or break your success and your relationships.
So what do you do when the chips are down? The next challenge is only around the corner. How will you deal with it and what choices will you make?