Courage, part 2

coping with adversity

Suppose you were a salesman having a rough month. It looks like you are going to miss your sales target and get chewed out by your boss. You start feeling down and become less productive, figuring you're done for. This is where the process begins; you have to realize that discouragement is sinking its insidious claws into your mind.

Recognize that you are starting to get discouraged. Next, you need to remind yourself -- no, drill into your head -- that discouragement will get you nowhere. It will only help drag you down even more. So be quick and get it out of your system. Don't let it get a firm hold of you or you're toast.

Now the faster you can get rid of it and get moving to reach your goals, the better. How can you do that? Good question. The answer is through en couragement.
encouragement

I know what you're thinking: "Great, I need to hire a cheerleader now." Not quite, you are your own best cheerleader. Encouragement can and must come from within.

During the course of your life, you've certainly achieved grand things. Perhaps you won a gold medal in your grade school Olympics, got an A+ on a subject you liked, were named top salesman in your company for the week, or maybe you were elected student body president.

These are all achievements that required a certain amount of courage. More importantly, they are your achievements and nothing stops you from moving on to greater things. If you could stand up to the challenge and win back then, why not do the same today?

Tell yourself that you are capable of achieving great things, tell yourself that you're smart, tell yourself that you're the man for the job, and tell yourself that you'll achieve your goals because you are willing to put in the necessary effort.

The point is that you have to encourage yourself to go for the brass ring. Don't just sit back and assume that all will turn out okay because without your actions, it likely won't.

The last thing you want to do is be on the sidelines and watch the parade pass you by. As Lewis Grizzard said: "Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes."

Now what could be more boring than staring at your ceiling for the rest of your life? Sure it's safe, but have some courage, go out into the world and make a difference. After all, you only live once, and life isn't a spectator sport!