Tough Times

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TITLE: Tough Times
AUTHOR: Jerry Lopper
CONTACT: jerry@yourcoachtosuccess.com

COPYRIGHT: ©2004 by Jerry Lopper. All rights reserved

WORD COUNT: 510
FORMAT: This article is formatted to 61 cpl.

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For most of us, life is a mixture of placid and tumultuous
experiences. Like a roller coaster ride, life brings us
periods of smooth ride punctuated with interludes of stomach
churning, accelerating drops through the unexpected. As a
younger man, I tended to resist the unpredictable and
difficult life challenges coming my way, thinking that I
could keep life smooth and predictable by exerting control,
working harder, and working smarter. Of course, I failed.

Now I realize that life is supposed to be just as it is. In
fact, I’ve come to appreciate the breath-taking drops for
the opportunities they bring me-not that I always welcome
them, but I appreciate them.

Tough times have much to offer us. Only when challenged do I
have the opportunity to experience who I am and what I can
do. Tough times show me my true self, and permit me to
demonstrate who I am to my loved ones and myself.

We are role models for some one at all times. As parents, we
are probably somewhat aware of the role modeling
responsibility, but it’s not just our children who watch us.
It often surprises me to find that someone with whom I’ve
had infrequent casual interactions regards me a role model
for some aspect of life. Perhaps this is not so surprising,
when I realize that I hold similar regard for others, yet
have not told them so.

Do you hold strong convictions about your values, such as
integrity, peace, equality, honesty, and loyalty? The best
way to demonstrate your convictions, to both yourself and
others, is to exemplify your values when you experience
tough times. It’s relatively easy to behave honestly when
things are going smoothly-but much more difficult to be
honest when you’re short of money and your bank makes a
$1,000 error in your favor. What a wonderful opportunity to
declare and experience your honesty!

In the midst of your current tough time, remember these
truths:
- Life is eternal.
- Much of the tough in tough times stems from fear of what
might result.
- Most fears do not materialize.
- Regardless of the apparent severity of your current
difficulty, to your soul this is simply a life experience,
an illusion of reality for the sake of experience.
- There is opportunity within every difficult time-the
chance to live as your highest self. Your behavior declares
who you are.
- Life’s experiences have no meaning other than the meaning
you attribute.