Life Has Its Ups and Downs

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Life Has Its Ups and Downs

Life Has Its Ups and Downs, but it is entirely up to you to ensure there are more ups than downs.  It is said ‘only when we move forward out of fear can we truly embrace life’s ups and downs with dignity and grace.’

“Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as a reality-in your own mind.” Bruce Lee

My life will not be defined by my struggles or my personal woes. I may have struggled with the consequences of my visual impairment, yet this won’t be what I will be remembered for because I refuse to allow it to hold me back.

It‘s very easy to allow ourselves to be driven by the circumstances and situations we face; but our future and the success and happiness we will enjoy will be dependent on how we interpret and learn from them.

One of the biggest things I‘ve learnt over the years is that ―you are what you think. You are able to create your own destiny simply by the things you think about. If your expectancy is to fail, then that is what you will probably do. If, however, you have absolute confidence that you are going to succeed then whatever ―ups and downs you experience you will interpret them as stepping-stones or a learning curve to your eventual success.

If you are anything like I was when I first faced visual impairment, when I was more down than ever before,  you probably spend most of your day worrying or thinking about all the negative things in your life right now. It’s very human to concern ourselves with the things that could go wrong, things that have gone wrong, things that annoy us, and our past bad experiences. But if you really have had enough of struggle and really want to achieve your ultimate desires, than there is a way.

My motto is ‘never give up.’

It‘s very, very natural to be afraid of the bad things that are happening in your life. Natural to be afraid of your challenges. But you have to believe in your possibilities.

I have learned a lot from my ups and downs on my life journey and I want to share these with you. The lessons I present here are nothing more than lessons in how to manage life. They are lessons in how to manage your thoughts, your feelings, and your time, so that life becomes brilliant.

Take control of your mind

The more control you have inside your head, the easier it will make things great outside your head. It will not only be easier for you but for those around you. It will allow you to live more happily. Your brain runs all the time, and it’s either going to run in the direction you want it to go or it’s going to run all over the place. If you don’t do things to control your thoughts and control what pictures you make, then you won’t be feeling as good as you can be.

It’s important to manage your thoughts. The more you learn to control your internal voices and to place wonderful pictures of your future inside of your head, taking charge of your own mental processes, the more you’ll be in charge of your life.

Believe in the unbelievable

Years ago, a mobile phone was expensive to buy, difficult to use, and the size of a small brick. Now there are phones that fit in the palm of your hand and you can not only use them to make calls but also to read e-mails, surf the net, watch television or even see the person you’re speaking to. The truth is, whatever you see in your mind – good or bad – if you believe it, it will become reality. You are capable of achieving so much more than you have so far, you just have to believe this. You can make the unbelievable, believable.

When I was born, it was impossible to even conceive of putting a man on the moon. Yet, in a short space of time  there he was saying that it was a “Giant leap for mankind.” So just know anything is possible for you, and your future has not yet been created. Now create it the way you would dream of and take giant leaps for yourself.

Learn every day

Everybody is capable of learning, both from their past and new things that come their way. If you‘re not happy with where you are, it‘s only new things such as changing thinking patterns that will move you on to something better. We owe it to ourselves to bring about continued improvement. We are fortunate to live in an age where so much knowledge is stored at our finger tips reachable through the internet. Spend time absorbing new knowledge to help you bring about your new wonderful up times.

Assume the best not the worst

In life there are generally two ways of seeing things. When faced with situations in your life where you’ve got the choice to assume the best or worst, you’ve got to uplift yourself to get where you want to be, or simply allow yourself to stay down.  Accept the worst has happened and now be determined to improve your life refusing to be a victim of circumstances. The best is in front of you, but it is up to you, and only you to grasp this into your hands.

Seize the day

There is a famous saying ‘Carpe diem,’  or, “Seize the day.” Yes, seize the day, and make the most of it. No matter what dire situation you find yourself in, know you will survive, and look forward with great expectancy for the future because the past will be behind you, and you are determined to make every day count. Live in the moment, ensure that you waste not a second of the precious time you have. Feeling sorry for yourself erodes the time you have, pick yourself up and make every second count.

It’s up to you

Developing the attitude of ―if it‘s going to be; it‘s up to me‖ is the first step to take control of your life. Taking responsibility for your own actions means that success or failure is the direct result of what you do or don‘t do, end of story! Life is as you make it. It is possible to create your own ―luck‖ by having the right attitude and making good things happen.

Let go

Sometimes, people hang on to their problems because they want to feel unique or important. Their problems give them identities. They love to be victims of the world. They seek out ways to prove that nothing will work for them and they are hopeless cases. Accept that there is no such thing as a hopeless case. There is always hope, and there is always a way out of your problems.

Be decisive

Whatever it is you decide to do be decisive. I mean make a decision and stick to it. So many times we decide to do something without the necessary conviction to carry it though. If you are wishy-washy in doing anything you will be influenced by the first obstacle that you encounter. I found that conviction of purpose is what empowers success.

Follow your passion

If you want success than you have to find something that you enjoy doing. Without passion it is extremely difficult to keep on track and stay the course. Success does not mean wealth & fortune, but achieving something remarkable by working with your passion, doing what you have chosen to do, and loving every minute of it, making the difference.

You know the answers

The answers are within you. You already have the answers, you already have the potential, and you already have the achievement within you if you only take the time to look. You have to relax and become quiet. Believe in your abilities, and know you carry within you the answers to How? What? Why?  But you have to ask yourself the questions to find your answers. Once you do you will find that the negatives will be replaced with the positives and a new strength will evolve within you that will help you overcome the peaks and troughs of your journey to success!

It’s essential that you have more control over how you feel and so more control over what you do. If you change the way you think, it changes the way you feel, which changes the way you act. Do this and you’ll experience more ups than downs.

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About the author: Larry Lewis
My name is Larry Lewis, Health & Wellness Life Coach, Founder of Healthy Lifestyles Living, contributor to the Huffington Post, recently featured in the Sunday Mail Newspaper and somebody who went from being an owner of a chain of gyms and fitness fanatic, to a visually impaired overweight and incredibly sick person. Read about my illness to wellness story.