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Failure is Not Permanent

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“The only time failure becomes permanent is if you decide you aren’t going to try anymore.” – Cherry Coley

Today I am thankful that failure is not permanent and that we, as humans, can choose to improve ourselves, our lives, our outlook on a daily basis.  What an amazing thing to be able to change direction or correct our error when we find we’ve made a mistake. 

I am thankful to have the ability to learn to plan ahead, to not let myself be cornered and to recognize that in every situation, no matter how stressful, there are always choices to be made.  Being human means we can learn better ways to approach lifes challenges.

We do ourselves and the people around us a great service by taking care to look at  situations as they arise, center our focus on the goal, and take the steps necessary to get there.  The circumstances, events, and obstacles have little impact as long as we keep our eyes on the goal we wish to reach.

Today be thankful for the ability to set goals, remain focused, realize that failure just means we are still trying, and the determination to see things through to completion.

Cherry Coley (c)

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Storm Clouds Roll

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photo by cc

I’ve had a lot of people tell me lately that life is tough.  No kidding!  I had two rather odd sinus and respiratory type infections in the last 6 weeks and the antibiotics left me feeling somewhat off, but the ordeal left me feeling kind of weak. 

That’s not counting the fact that the electric bill all but doubled due to the hot weather and the air conditioner dying, the car tires decided they needed replacing, the other car’s belt and fuse will have to be replaced, my youngest daughter is about to start high school and is in a panic to make sure she has the right shoes, clothes, and hair she needs.  My part-time job petered out because of the economy right now, and while I was intending on quitting soon, well, I wasn’t ready yet.  It’s been a steady drain on the finances since about May.

With only one car we are somewhat at the mercy of convenience which means that on days like yesterday when I don’t get home until 8 o’clock or so then have to go pick up my other daughter from work, there’s just not a lot of time to get many other things done.  Not getting things done makes me frustrated and sometimes irritable if it goes on too long. 

What can I say?  Life works that way, it’s a domino effect of one thing leading to one thing leading to another and sometimes we find ourselves wondering when there will be a break, where’s the off switch, the easy button?

Stop the hectic pace just for a moment.  Ever wonder why the birds sing so beautifully after a storm?  They are celebrating the storm passing. Not just the birds, but the crickets, the june bugs, and many animals with a voice will give a shout out in celebration when a storm ends.  Is it any wonder why?

Life is full of storms, but they are all temporary.  Winston Churchill said – “When you’re going through hell, just keep on going.”  He had a point, the thing to do is keep pushing, keep moving forward, find one or two things you can do each day to reach your goals, odds are if you sit down you’re going to get burned.  So get up, put one foot in front of the other and keep moving until you feel like you mean it and soon enough the storm clouds will part and the sun will shine again.  Just don’t forget to throw your hands up and celebrate when the storm ends!

Cherry Coley ©