#Winning
Last week, I posted a blog post titled, “#Losing.” It was about how terrible things were going in my work life, how stressful things were for Chris at his job, and about how until God somehow changed my circumstances, my blogging schedule was going to be a bit erratic.
That night around 2:00am, I woke up and padded downstairs in my pajamas and socks and reread the post.
Yep. It was just as I had suspected. A mindless rant.
Don’t get me wrong. Mindless rants are important and necessary in life, and I wouldn’t be human if I never had one. In fact, the mindless rant wasn’t what had woken me up in the middle of the night. What woke me up was the sudden realization that if I just let it stay a mindless rant and never actually did anything about it, then I would become a mindless person.
A mindless rant is one thing. A mindless person is another.
To me, a mindless person is someone who just sits there and waits. They wait on opportunities to come to them. They wait on people to treat them better. They wait on success to find them. They wait and they wait and they wait because they are too mindless to do anything about it.
I woke up in the middle of the night because I know that I am not a mindless person. I am an active person. I take action when I can. I pray. I think. I plan. I move ahead. And, every now and then, I mindlessly rant. But there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as I pick myself up and move ahead afterwards.
I’ve been thinking about my dad lately. I wish he were here for me to talk to about all these things going on in my life right now. The funny thing is, though, I know exactly what he would say. He would tell me to buck up. He’d tell me to pick myself up. He’d tell me to stop wallowing and do something. And then he’d hug me and tell me that he knew I could handle this. Dad was a doer. He rarely ever wallowed or even complained (unless complaining would drive my mom nuts, and then he’d complain about something all day long just to get her going…). He didn’t believe in feeling sorry for yourself or in excuses. He just did what needed to be done, and he expected others to live by that same principle. I think I’m a lot like him in that sense. And he would have hated the post last week. He would have called me the next day and said, “You’re having a tough time, huh? Got lots on your plate? Well, that’s GOOD! Get it done! Quit making excuses!”
I ended up taking down that post. Not because I’m afraid to share my mindless rants (see the rest of this blog, if you don’t believe me…) but because I’m done with that rant. It’s time to stop making excuses and start making changes now. Bloom where you’re planted, and all that jazz.
This weekend I rested and this morning I woke up ready to start fresh. I read my Bible and prayed for things to be taken out of my hands, and for me to be willing to let go of my own expectations. And you know what? I had a great day at work. I’m certainly not saying that because I watched football this weekend and said a prayer, life became roses and sunshine. That’s not exactly how it works. But I am saying that I watched football and said a prayer and my outlook became roses and sunshine. Same problems. Same stresses. Same circumstances. But I changed the only thing I have control over – my attitude.
Mindless people have terrible attitudes. They have attitudes of defeat and frustration and stress because they aren’t willing to work hard enough enough to overcome them. But people who take action? People who see circumstances they don’t like and decide to change them? Those people have attitudes of enthusiasm and optimism and joy.
And those sound like much better options to me.
16 Comments
Mandy
Love, love, LOVE this post. And it was exactly what I needed to hear today…thank you!
Jen @ Ginger Guide
Good for you, Katie! A change in attitude can really make a world of difference. It’s hard to let go of those things we can’t control but you’re right, we can control our attitudes.
Sonia
Thanks for the reminder!!!!!!
Meggie
LOVE this! Thanks for sharing. I’ve so been on both sides of winning and losing and this post is just perfect! =)
Simone
So true! I realized this a few months ago. I recently transferred to a new college and so I knew no one. The whole first semester I pretty much wallowed in my room and was so sad that I didn’t know anyone and was so bored all the time. I was sad that I had no social life and felt like a waste because, other than schoolwork, I wasn’t doing much of anything. I realized that it was really my own fault. What did I expect if I never left my room? Any way, long story short, I decided to join a sorority. I pledged Zeta Tau Alpha 2 weeks ago and have never been happier. My schedule is beyond busy and I have 70+ new sisters who I can hang out with anytime. And all it took was a little initiative 😀 The whole time I was thinking, “bloom where you’re planted”.
sarah @makingitmyhome.blogspot.com
Reminds me so much of the best piece of advice I ever learned while in school from a brilliant professor who told us to change the phrase “yes but…” to “yes and..” the power of positive thinking, and the ability to change your attitude from yes I have a problem but here are all the excuses of why I cant do something to yes I have the problem and here is what I am going to do about it was a life changer for me
Faith
Wow!! Thanks for this post! I so desperately needed it right now..at this moment…
Ariane
You have an amazing gift and thank you for once again sharing it with all of us! This spoke to me so much as my first pregnancy and baby left me “mindless” in my other aspects of life. Thank you for sharing your dad’s wisdom and inspiring us all to make our own happiness. Tomorrow, if I further procrastinate on getting back to my thesis, I will go back and read your words. Thank you! Hope things at work continue to improve, they have to because your positivity is contagious!
Suzanne
I’m going to say this every time you post something about your Dad because it’s true every time. Your Dad rocks! I love when you post about him…I wish I would have known him better than “hey that’s Katie’s dad”.
He’s helped you develop such a wonderful attitude and I’m so glad you can share that with us. Thanks for this post…well-written as always and just what I needed to hear today coincidentally 🙂
Lindsay
Exactly what I needed to hear today. Thanks!
Alaina
I needed to read this today for sure, as I’m at a crossroads, kind of just stuck. Thanks for this post!
Rhea
Love this. I really needed to read this post. Nice motivation and advice.
Beanie, Gracie & Tillman's Nana
You definitely have learned the lessons Dad tried to live by. No whining, no crying in your soup. His favorite saying when we found ourselves at a particularly low point, “Well, when the ox is in the ditch, we just have to get him out.” And that is so true. You can stand on the bank and rant and rave – but at the end of the day you’re going to have to just climb down there and push the damn ox out.
momiss
You and I have much in common. Oh, I know how stubborn you can be. I ADMIRE IT! It’s just a matter of channeling that into a strength, and honey, never, ever doubt that you have strength.
Recently when I start to pray these days I am simply speechless. It’s like my life is a board game and God threw all the pieces in the air and now everything is in a different place. I’m just waiting and trusting. Which, you may know, is very hard for me. But I’m just hanging in there, steadfast and loyal.
And I cannot abide mindless people either. And I know for a fact it’s a 50/50 chance of ever getting them to be more mindful. lol
Elaine
SO TRUE. Life is going to suck sometimes, but your attitude going through it is what really matters.
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
I think your dad and my dad went to the same “school”. I’ve always been grateful to be raised by a “buck up” parent. At the time it often felt heartless but as an adult it has kept me from being a wallower.