As I begin, I’ll be honest from the start. I’m not always Mr.
Happy Pants. I’m not always a positive ball of energy. Like you, I have days when things build up and get me down.
When stress enters the picture, we have to deal with issues we don’t like. It’s normal. It happens.
A few years ago, I lived in daily stress. It was a struggle
just to get through the day. I would focus on the negatives, like my job. I hated my job. I hated my car, my living arrangements,
and the state of my then marriage. Many nights I went to bed angry and
stressed, which would lead to another day of stress, leaving me angrier than the night before.
It was a destructive cycle, one that affected my health.
I had heartburn, headaches. My nerves were a wreck, and I
was not only overweight, but I was a heart attack waiting to happen.
Never
once did I stop to think about the good in my life—and there was some--but instead of finding the good, I
would get upset, mostly at other people for being happy. I wanted what they had but could see
no way for happiness to find me.
At the time, I was living in Ocean City MD, the happy
family and tourist capital of Maryland. I’d watch them enjoy the sun and
the ocean, laughing and smiling, partaking in the boardwalk fun. They
weren’t six hundred pounds, like me.
Why do they get to be happy? Why are they enjoying the pretty blue ocean, when I can’t even fit into a
bathing suit? Shoot, forget swimming, I can't even walk.
I
was morbidly obese! And I was pissed.
The more I focused on these negatives, the further I sunk into a state
of depression. And having spent years there, I can attest to many things, like negativity brews Anger. Anger leads to resentment.
Resentment leads to envy. Envy leads to a feeling of entitlement, a feeling of
being left behind, which leads back to anger and more hopelessness.
Hopelessness walks hand in hand with depression.
You see, that’s the way it works; the law of attraction. We
attract the same energy we’re living back into our lives. I could find no joy,
no peace, because I failed to see the beautiful things around
me. In stead, I choose to focus on the bad.
Why didn’t I see the beautiful sun shinning? I could feel it
on my skin. Why couldn’t I hear the beautiful bird singing outside my window?
I never took time to sit and admired the beauty around me.
I never thought about sunsets, or the magic that happens when the ocean meets
the sky.
It took giving up on me, and almost dying, before I realized
how much I wanted to live. It took
understanding how important the little things in life really were, like being able to ride
a bike or walk the boardwalk like a normal man. It took understanding that I did want to live.
I wanted to love and find happiness, and soon that revelation lead to thankfulness. I began to thank God for what I did have—friends
who loved me, a family who cared and would always be there for me--and it was inside
those positives that I found the key to changing my heart.
You see, the positives helped me to see the good in the world. It lifted the clouds and allowed me to feel
the warm summer breeze, the cool rain falling after a hot august day. The more
I realized I was alive, the more I wanted to live. The more positive I became, the more success I found. And it's happening even today.
Will change happen over night? No. But it can’t start until
you take that first step.
As I stated from the start, I still have days when life
throws me a curve. I don’t dwell on the injustice of it all. I don’t ask, why me? I refocus on the good, the positive. I don't let politics upset me. A losing game, depressing news, and or negative gossip, don't rattle my cage. I
ignore it all. I've lived in a negative place for long enough and it led me to hate. I
hated life, people, the world, and finally, God and me. It led me to 625 pounds,
to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and very nearly death.
Since changing my focus to the good and positive, I
have found purpose and direction. I challenge you to do the same. Start to
focus more on the things you have, rather than the things you don’t. Focus
on the good people in your life, the sunshine and the blue sky. Wake up
everyday and strive to find something good, something positive, and I promise you, your life will change for the better.
We can all find something to be grateful for. If you’re
reading this Blog right now, you have eyes to see and a mind that allows you to read.
You have a heart that beats. It’s not hard to realize what we all have--choice. We have the power. We make the
choice, whether to dwell on the bad
or the good. It's all up to us.
Will you still have days when life can be tough? ABSOLUTELY!
But you keep going, keep focusing on the positive. When you’re in a bad place,
feeling angry or depressed, refocus. Get your head in to a better place. Think
of a happy event, a song, or a funny story. All you have to do is look around
you and change your thinking.
I've said it before, "Positive
thoughts bring positive results."
Give it a try and you’ll understand what this formerly 625 pound,
severely depressed, and half dead man was talking about.
Life is precious, life is special. It’s beautiful and so are
you.
PEACE
Dan
