When you face great difficulties and feel discouraged, it is normal for your thoughts and your emotions to begin to get out of control. It happens to everyone, men and women alike (although men are less likely to admit it…. imagine that) and the results of unbridled thoughts and emotions are nearly always disastrous. The first step you need to take when you find yourself going down that slippery slope is to slam on the brakes, bringing everything to a complete stop. Stop your thoughts, stop your feelings, and just take a step back. You may not be able to control the events that are happening to you, but you most certainly can control how you react to them. While I may not agree with all of the claims some people make about the power of positive thinking (I have yet to have a Mercedes-Benz materialize in my driveway and I’m still nearly bald….), there is still a great deal of power and strength that you can tap into simply by controlling how you think and feel. If you allow fear to dominate your thoughts, you will always be afraid. If you allow failure to dominate your thoughts, you will certainly fail. However, if you maintain a positive outlook and cultivate a quiet steadfastness in your thoughts; if you can create and maintain an attitude of determination and perseverance, you can overcome most anything life throws at you and have an infinitely better chance of achieving your dreams. I can hear it now…”Well, RP, that sounds great, but just how do I do that???? It is not as difficult as you may think - you can do this and change the way you react to the hardships that life throws at you. I’ll lay out some things you can do in my next post, but until then just remember that nothing is over until you say it is over- Never Surrender!!

See you next time -

RP