When you change the way that you look at things, the things that you look at begin to change.
I was having a conversation with a family member recently, and they were telling me about how certain things weren’t going as planned for them. This happens to all of us. Sometimes things just don’t go as planned, and there’s nothing we can do about it. The only thing that we can do about it is control what meaning we can give to these events. Are these positive things, or are we looking at these things in a negative manner?
I’ll give you an example, and this is really personal. Back in 2009, I was young and in college, and I got a DUI. It ended up changing my life forever. After that event, I had a couple of choices to make. What meaning did I give to that event? Was it something bad or something good? In my case, it was something good. This event caused me to move back in with my parents because of the cost of the DUI. I stopped drinking for a year. I had to attend AA classes. Within eight months of the DUI, however, I became a homeowner. Within 10 months, I had my real estate license.
My life has never been the same since. It was something obviously negative that happened, and I could have thought about it as something really bad, but I accepted the responsibility for my actions and I gave it a positive meaning. I turned something negative into something positive.
Turn something negative into something positive.
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I remember doing a toastmaster speech a couple of years back where I spoke about the concept of what meaning you’re giving certain life events. One of the examples I gave was to imagine that your boyfriend broke up with you. Is that the end of the world for you, or, on the positive side, is it an opportunity for you to upgrade? Maybe a better significant other is out there waiting for you. I remember when my ex-girlfriend and I broke up it was tough, but at the same time I look at my fiance now and say to myself, “Oh my God, I’m so glad that this happened. This wonderful opportunity was waiting for me.”
At the time, you may not be able to see what the real purpose is, but you need to believe that there is something better out there that is waiting for you. The only things you can control are your attitude, the meaning that you give to that certain event, and your perception of things. When something bad happens to you, or something unexpected that you can’t control, think of it this way: What meaning am I giving to this event? Have I accepted this event already and am I moving forward? Is there a bright side to this situation? What if there is something better out there?
There’s a rainbow after every storm.
If you or anybody you know is thinking about buying or selling real estate, have them give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to helping you in any way I can.