Be Grateful
“Be grateful. And remember: whining is the opposite of thanksgiving… — Nido R. Qubein”
As we approach our Thanksgiving Holiday, it is good to remember everything for which you should be thankful. Make a list of all the good things that have happened. Focus on the good in your life. Be grateful for even the smallest of blessings. By thinking like this, you will take on a different countenance and will also begin to be a bit more optimistic toward and about life.
Whining, seems to be the norm for the majority when things do not go their way and life has or is beating on them and trying to take them down. Whining will not make things better, whining only make things worse. It will not solve the problem. It will not help you get better. It will only help you to become bitter and resentful toward those that are healthy, those who are enjoying life, whose lives, you believe are better off than yours. This is the wrong focus. This will not help you to better your life in any way shape or form.
What we should be doing when things are not going well for us financially, socially, personally, physically, emotionally, psychologically or in any other way, is to count our blessings. We should be grateful for what we have already been given. When we are thankful for what we have, or have had, we get our focus on the right things instead of on our woes. Our focus should not be on what’s wrong, it should be on what is right. What is right is what we want for our life, but we will not get that when we whine because our focus is on the wrong thing. Our focus is on our woes and remember, as a man thinks, so is he.
Just over a year ago, I suffered a severe pancreatic attack. The diagnosis was not a good one. My wife was led to believe I would not make it as the doctors were sure I would lose over 90% of my pancreas. When that much of your pancreas is lost, your pancreas dies and you will eventually die.
I did not eat for over 15 days and over a period of almost five months I lost 47 pounds. Although I do not remember the first 9 to 11 days, after I was able to begin to think again, I was determined to get better. The pain was absolutely unbelievable. I have had 3 lower back surgeries and 2 shoulder surgeries, but they were a piece of cake in comparison to the pain caused by this pancreatic attack. And, it lasted for several months.
With the back surgeries, which happened over a period of five years, I had 12 epidural blocks. Along with those surgeries I wound up taking several thousand, again, several thousand Percocet pain pills, which, according to my lovely wife, made me a person that was not pleasing to be around. When I had made the decision to have a 3rd surgery, my wife informed me she may have to move out because I was not someone that was nice and or easy to be around. When she told me that, it knocked all of the wind out of me. I was heartbroken that I had mistreated her as she was the kindest woman I knew. I told her I would not take the drugs and would simply do bio feedback to get through the surgery. She wasn’t sure I could do it and I wasn’t either, but I wanted her more than I wanted pain pills.
It upset me that pain and drugs brought out something in me that was not kind. I realized there were so many things that can bring out of us what is in our heart. That might be alcohol, drugs, money, anger, and pain. I became determined to clean out my heart so that whatever I faced, there would be nothing in me I had suppressed that would come rushing out and bring pain to those around me. I worked on the bio feedback and stayed focused on getting better. I made it through the 3rd surgery, in 1999, and all has been well with my back ever since.
So, when the pancreatic attack happened, I didn’t get angry. I wasn’t mad at God, or angry that the travel to another country might have been the reason for the pancreatic attack. I didn’t get short with those around me. I recognized good happens to bad people and bad happens to good people. Things happen, but it is our response to what happens that determines how our tomorrows turn out. It is being thankful. It is being grateful. It is ultimately believing all will work to your good, which is difficult to do when your focus is askew by whining about your situation rather than focusing on the life you have been so fortunate to be given.
If you want your life to change for the better, then you need to change. Jim Rohn said, “When you change, everything will change for you.” One of the first steps is to be grateful for what we have and then more good things will be added. Give it a try.
Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…
Respectfully,
Rick Cox