IT’S TIME TO GO TO WAR!

It’s time to go to war! That may not sound like something you would hear on a website dedicating to living an amazing life, but then again it is exactly the thing you should read on a site like that. Any site that provides a ton of sunshine and rainbows can only help you so much. Life does not normally find us riding a unicorn to our wonderful job as king or queen of the kingdom of Happyville. There are challenges that we face every single day. In short, sometimes life sucks. That is not being negative, it is just being honest.

If we were to stop there and whine or just say to ourselves (or everyone around us) “My life sucks.” and sit on our butt doing nothing about it, there is a 100% chance two things will happen. 1.) we will feel terrible and like we have no control over our lives. 2.) our lives will continue to suck. These are not a maybe, but a certainty. If we do a few small things every so often, there will be a small chance every so often that things will get better.

If we want our lives to change we must go to war with whatever is challenging us. We must face it head on and attack it with all we have. Words like ‘war’ and ‘attack’ may bring up violence and lots of other negative thoughts, but that is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about using every possible resource at our disposal to address and correct the issue. It may also involve gaining new resources that we can use to further attack the challenge. We cannot stop until we have won the war.

I am going to give you two quick examples to help better explain the concept. On Easter I injured my back. It was so bad I was unable to even walk the following day. This happened right after I recovered from the coronavirus. I could have sat there and said, “It is just one thing after another!” or asked, “Why me? Why do things keep going wrong?” I could have taken a few pain pills every so often and hoped for a miracle. No! I wanted my back better and wanted it better now. I contacted my doctor and asked a million different questions. He recommended rest and anti-inflammatories. As I followed those instructions I also read articles online about helping back pain. Advice about applying both ice and heat and when to do both. I also watched videos and stretches that might help and positions to sleep that may ease pain. In other words I did everything I could think of to tackle the problem.

Let us say you find yourself looking for a new job currently. You put your resume on a few job sites and wait. How likely will it be that you will get hired in a hurry to a job that you enjoy and are good at? I would say slim to none. While putting resumes on job sites is a very good idea to do, I would continually look at other means as well. Stopping in places you would like to work and inquire on employment opportunities. Learn different ways you could update your resume and make it more attractive to potential employers. How about brushing up on your skills and knowledge to make you more attractive to employers? Reading publications in the field in which you would like to be employed. Networking with professionals in that industry. Which one of these should you do while looking for a job? The answer is all of them if you really want a good job and want it soon. Don’t just whine about your unemployment, go to war with it! Do everything in your power to tackle the problem.

As you can see, going to war can be one of the most powerful and positive things you can do. Next time you have a challenge you’re facing, ask yourself, “Am I just whining about this problem, or am I going to war with it?” Your honest answer should tell you how to proceed. One last reminder. In war they are constantly inventing new and more lethal weapons. You should do the same in the war you are facing. Find new and inventive ways to tackle the problem. They might not all work, but there is 100% chance that sitting on your butt whining will not improve your situation at all.