Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Winston Churchill

School is starting soon and children will once again walk past my door with their mothers, fathers, grandmas, and grandpas on their way to school. Going back to school is always the catalyst that makes me think about changes I need to make. New Year’s resolutions are not the same, as that seems more like a time of hopes and wishes instead of real change.

Fall has been the change agent in our lives. It was when we started afresh, took on new challenges, learned new things, and met new friends. Our lives flow with the seasons and if we are in sync with the seasons our life flows better.

It is easy to lose hope and see the negatives instead of the positives, but I think we have to take hard, long looks at how things are going in our lives, our country, and the world. We shouldn’t pull the sheet over our face instead of facing the changes that must be made.

Sometimes we do things hoping for one result and getting another. We didn’t understand the unintended consequences. Many good-hearted people want to help but sometimes help doesn’t do what we thought it would – safe injection sites come to mind.

One thing that rolls around my mind often is what help looks like. When are we helping and when are we enabling? When are we creating more chaos instead of self-reliance, independence, and order?

We are very good at fixing things, we know how to repair roads, bridges, and houses, and we know when something is beyond fixing and needs to be rebuilt from scratch instead of patching up what is already there.

For success, attitude is equally as important as ability. Walter Scott

Building society is different because we never get to scrap the old for the new, and where it has been tried, it hasn’t worked out well.  We have to balance the needs of everyone in society; we need to provide education for the brightest among us and those with special needs.  Perfection is the enemy of the good, but when is more help detrimental? George Bush talked about the bigotry of low expectations.

Do low expectations of ourselves and others affect our lives in negative ways? I remember a conversation years ago about easier math classes in high school. She said, “The math is about twenty percent easier, but the environment, is one hundred percent worse. Why would she say that? Is she writing the kids off in the easy math or is it the attitude they bring, an attitude of I can’t instead of I can? An attitude of embracing trouble instead of expecting a great life they will work hard for. Do we need to guard against learned helplessness with ourselves, our families, and our society? I can because I think I can, is a great attitude.

If we look back on our lives there was so much opportunity we didn’t see. It’s why if we had a do-over we often think we could build a better life by taking the opportunities that were there we didn’t see. But we don’t get a do-over and opportunities we missed were perhaps a lesson not to miss them when they present themselves again, or new opportunities we don’t recognize because opportunities often look like hard work without a guaranteed payoff. Is it looking for easy and the guarantees in life, that catch us up?

I think it is Jim Rohn who said, “Don’t ask for easy, ask to be better.” What would it mean if we took that advice to heart?

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Winnie the Pooh

The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude. Oprah Winfrey

It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome. William James

Thank you for reading his post. Please return and read more and have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.