Sunshine and Rainbows

I'm still here. My heart is beating, my passion is full. Eyes wide open.

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There's a famous quote that inspired me to write again. It will probably be familiar to you and at this time, it rings truer than true to my ears. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Life is beautiful, but, life is hard. We go through tough times but they make us even tougher people. We have to encounter the bad to fully appreciate the good - and in truth: shit happens, it always will. And if you accept less than what you deserve, settle for the shit...well things aren't going to ever look up! Sometimes, you have to face your demons head on, realize where you've gone wrong, pick yourself back up and start over. You're the one who gets to turn things around. YOU.

The glory in falling down, is standing back up, starting from fresh. It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked off your feet, it's about always standing back up. About putting up a fight and for never settling for less than you deserve.

Fighting back and standing up for yourself is important, but...let's look at the darker side of it all...what happens when it all doesn't work out? When you plan for things to go a certain way, set goals, tell the whole world about it and yet...you still fall down, you fall short of what you were expecting, or maybe you were dealt a completely different hand, one you didn't want altogether. The truth is, we can set our goals and be confident in ourselves to expect the best...but sometimes, that best doesn't come and worse yet, our best might just not be good enough. Then what? How do you move forward, how do you respond...what next?

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!" - Rocky

You move on. You push on. Life goes on.

Sometimes, life isn't fair. It isn't all 'sunshine and rainbows'...it can be a cruel place. People are going to hurt you, they are going to let you down and sometimes, you need to move on. Do what is best for you in the moment and do what will make you feel better.

We get angry, we lash out, we shut down. We don't like bad things. We don't like how they make us feel, how they affect our goals, our confidence, our life. But...bad things happen. And they will keep on happening, if you let them. You have a choice. To settle for being beat, for giving up, for not succeeding on your goal...or you can move on. Keep pushing, every day. Don't let one experience beat you down for the world to see. Use that experience to better you, to learn. 

Experiences are useful. If something makes us feel sad and mad and empty, we are never going to want to experience that again, so we move in one of two directions: one, down a spiral of self defeat. Be angry, get mad at the world, and decide everyone should feel your pain...and settle. Settle for less than you deserve. Or, two: be angry, get mad at the world, and then move on. Life happens, shit happens. And you realize how horrible you felt, you would never wish that upon anyone. From there, your chain of affects, is amazing. You choose to be a better person, maybe even the bigger person. And in that moment, you are making this world a better place for the next person.

As tough as that decision is, I hope you always choose to be the bigger person. 

You, my friend, have the power. The power to move on and move forward. The power to experience pain and sadness, to be let down, to get mad...and then move on. Push on.  To not let that pain define you...and to still expect 'sunshine and rainbows'. Because even though this life is tough and bad things happen, this life is still beautiful. For every chance you miss, another is granted. For every door that closes, another one opens. For every time you fall, there is the opportunity to stand back up. When something ends, it's the opportunity to start again. You - have - the - choice. Which way will you look at it? How will you let 'life' affect you? You create your world, make it a good place. Spread love, spread positivity and don't spread pain.

Experience is important. But believe in yourself, to have the power to make a change, to realize how much you can affect others and to know the importance, of always standing back up after you fall.

XOXOX

Where is the good?

There is doubt.

There is fear.

There is anger, rejection, hate. There is giving up, giving in, letting go...

Then there is holding on.

There is also love.

There is also happiness, accomplishment, compassion.

There is good, behind the bad. It's just sometimes hidden.

Life can be hard, it can be rough and it can get ugly. Sometimes you take a step forward, only to move three steps backs. The bad, the dirty, the ugly...only makes the good in the world more crystal clear, beautiful and worth it.

Don't give up, don't listen to the nay-sayers, the negative voices around you, the people who say you can't, won't, will not, ever make it, finish it, accomplish it. People who belittle you, fear your success.

The only person you need to believe in you, is you. Fuel the fire, with passion, with the desire to succeed because it's something you want in your life, that will make you happy, make you complete, that will fill your heart with warmth. Do the things that make you happy. Help others do the things that make them happy.

An eye for an eye doesn't work, not today. I won't settle for negativity and sadness because it's what's been thrown at me or because it's what has been thrown at others. When tears come and pain is here, I don't wish that upon anyone. I want happiness, for everyone. We can spread the goodness in the world, the beauty, the passion, the good...it's up to us. To make the conscious decision to make the world better, by being better, by listening to your heart and going after what fuels you, what excites you, what makes you smile.

Don't focus on the bad, on the negative...look for the good. Spread the good, send out positivity into the world and it's what will come back to you. Spread love, give smiles, and happiness.  Be the good, spread the good...give love.

Do the world a favor and believe in yourself and everything you can accomplishment.

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that but the really great make you feel that you too can become great."

Cause happiness.

You can't always control what happens to you in this life. 

You usually don't get to pick the people you meet, the burdens you might run into, and the situations that unfold. What you get to decide, is how you handle everything that happens to you. From the moment you wake up, to the moment you walk out the door - you decide. You choose whether to be powerful, passionate and optimistic. You are the one who can put a smile on your face, and start a chain reaction...with a good deed, one smile, one soul...can change your mood, change your day, change your life.

So decide to make today better. Decide to make you better. Decide to make better choices.

You decide. This life, is yours. You hold the power. You don't always have control over the things that happen to you, but what you can control is your reaction to them...how you handle the situation and the people and how you move forward in making the moment better.

You can make this moment better. You can make your life better. Make the decision to try. Go after your heart and what makes it flutter. Go after what you what...help make the world a better place by making better decisions and going after what you want. One happy person, spreading happiness to others...can cause happiness in this world.

Cause happiness. Cause love. Cause positive choices and decisions.

Be a cause in this world.

Change the way you see everything. 

Change your views, change your world, change your life.

...a little reminder

Sometimes I feel guilty for succeeding, for accomplishing a goal, for feeling good about myself. I struggle sometimes with wanting to please everyone around me, and if things are going good for me, I have a habit of pushing that 'good' feeling to the side, to help please others, to make sure other people are happy...so I don't seem like I'm gloating, or showing off, or too happy.

I used to think being too happy was a bad thing.

I thought it was a bad thing to be competitive, to want to win, to want to succeed. But it's a new leaf, a new year. Sometimes, you need to look out for you and want YOU to be happy.

If you struggle with wanting to please others, but also wanting yourself to be happy...here's a little reminder:

You don't have to feel guilty for wanting to succeed. You don't have to want to always please others, always make sure everyone around you ok with what YOU are going through. This is your adventure, your path and vision....good things are coming for those around you, embrace what is happening for you right now. Embrace the good. Go after what you want...because it is ok for you to have everything YOU want.

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise

It's the people who never gave up. They just kept on pushing. They fought through the fear of failure, of rejection, of not being good enough They knew that just because they failed once, doesn't mean they are going to fail every time. Each time they were kicked down, it didn't matter, all that was important was that they got back up.

Sometimes you need to fail, over and over and over again before you are able to succeed. Sometimes you need to go through the pain and heartache in order to learn how to enjoy and fully appreciate the good things.

Sometimes you have to go through hell before you see the light. But, Don't give up. Every time you fall, stand back up. Fight for your dreams. Believe what is in your heart to be true and get after it.

Don't be scared to fall down. Don't be scared to be rejected, or to fail...this gives you the opportunity to start over, to re-do some things, to realize where you went wrong, did wrong or where you can improve. Don't accept failure as the final outcome, it is only a distraction. But distractions are good. They help you realize how much you might want something, might need something. They show you how hard you are willing to fight and how far you are willing to go for what you want. They leave your heart on the line...to get after it. So don't stop now, keep going. Just keep going.

Fear not my friend. You are on your way.