1. They Don’t Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves
“Mentally strong people don’t sit around feeling sorry about their circumstances or how others have treated them. Instead, they take responsibility for their role in life and understand that life isn’t always easy or fair.”
This is a ‘trap’ so easy to fall into; and many do – fall into it. They are not the company I want to keep.
I have ‘flirted’ with this a few times during my life, but have never really felt comfortable with it. I have discovered I am more comfortable being “proactive” rather than “reactive.” A good example of this is when I retired from the Air Force, and was waiting to be hired by the airlines.
I retired from the USAF on 15 July 1988, with no job at hand. But I somehow knew that things would work out. As the end of July came and went, then August – and no interviews, I began to become a ‘little concerned.’ Here is where it would have been so easy to begin feeling sorry for myself. However I engaged. I took a look at my applications, and updated them as necessary. (Proactive.) Then in September, things began to pop. I received 2 or 3 interviews, and was subsequently hired by TWA in October 1988. I took the job then in Jan. 1989 I was hired by NWA, and that’s where I ended up. That is where I wanted to be.
It would have been so easy to have to have fallen into the trap of feeling sorry for myself back in late July/early August 1988. But I think those “negative vibes” carry thorough us, to where others can see the negativity. By staying “proactive,” by being “positive,” I was doing the best I could with what I had. The key in this whole proposition is ‘willingness.’ Being ‘willing’ to do what you can, with what you have – and accepting it for what it is. Sure beats feeling sorry for myself! And it kinda emboldens me; being proactive, knowing I am doing the best I can… staying positive in the face of adversity.