We would have been better off hearing early on in our adult lives that there are no promises given in life and work. Some of you might be thinking I deserve the "duh" award about now. But isn't it ironic how often we hear and throw around promises. Often this happens without any thought at all.
What if we heard something like the following:
"No promises here, just the opportunity to get up after falling down and to try again."
Maybe not the cure-all, but certainly clear and based in reality.
In America, we're so obsessed with success and winning that we tend to run from the "loss" like the plague. What exactly do we learn when we succeed? Much I hope, but if we're honest we just want it to keep going. In our time many of those successes are hollow and unfulfilling. So sad, since a fulfilling win can only come after the bitter taste of failure.
We can't change the past (yesterday), so let's get on with it. You should not expect that every road leads to the dreams in your head. Follow your gut and be prepared to course correct. So many give up because they wanted life just as they desired. They fail to realize that it takes a lot of pain and disappointment to birth a dream come true. Eyes wide open here, ladies and gentlemen.
The following is a list of promises I've been willing to put all of myself into. But first understand, I made a decision some time ago that I would allow myself to be vulnerable and accept the risk inherent. Vulnerability and risk come together to open the door to happiness. Even with that, I've been hurt in all of these areas.
- The type of promises given to me by God.
- The marriage promise from my wife.
- The promises from friends like Rick, Marc, Terry, Steve, Jim, and Robert.
- Generally promises that come from people I meet for the first time, but I always manage those with verification in-mind.
- The type that come from my children. Verification is important here, but more importantly, they need to understand that I believe in them.