Ray’s Daily
September 16, 2020
“Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.”
E.B. White
I hope all is well with you during these difficult times. I know my health, my wife’s living in a skilled nursing facility and the isolation due to the virus has been a challenge for me. The good news is that I am recovering from my health problems, my wife is in good spirits and we are virus free.
We, like so many others need to do all we can to not let the challenges get us down. It is not always easy, especially with so many folks expressing anger and intolerance of others. I actually find avoiding the negative folks is easier these days.
I still think how we deal with our issues is up to us. I recently read the following abridged article that offered suggeastions I also believe in.
5 Powerful Tips for Overcoming Adversity
Ashley Elizabeth
1. Practice Self-Compassion – If you want to overcome adversity faster, the best place to start is by being more self-compassionate. By doing so, you will improve your emotional wellbeing and give yourself the confidence to rise up and keep moving forward. Honor yourself, knowing that you have everything that you need inside of you to weather any storm.
2. Become the Master of Your Emotions – The way that you respond to a challenge determines your ability to overcome that challenge. Where people get into trouble is that they allow external circumstances to dictate their moods. Do the work to reframe negative emotions and situations. Just because you experience negative emotions doesn’t mean that you have to react in ways that are harmful to you or others.
3. Make Humor Your Ally – Finding humor in the face of adversity can be extremely healing for the mind, body, and soul. It’s not about discrediting your pain. Rather, it’s about pulling upon positive emotions when you need them most. Anything that lightens your mood and inspires hope during the midst of chaos is ideal.
4. Stay Optimistic – When bad things happen, it’s easy to be negative and play the ‘why me’ game. However, this mindset often gets us nowhere. Conversely, people who remain optimistic, even in the toughest of times, naturally bounce back faster. Optimism is a powerful tool in overcoming adversity.
5. Believe in Yourself – None of the previous pieces of advice on this list will matter if you don’t have an unwavering belief in yourself and the process. Self-confidence in your ability to overcome adversity is the key to bouncing back from anything.
The key is to learn how to recognize when your self-talk is working against you and quickly reframe it. Instead of saying to yourself “I can’t”, replace it with “I will.” Trust yourself and know that there is nothing that you can’t handle.
~~~
“Life keeps throwing me stones. And I keep finding the diamonds.”
Ana Claudia Antunes
~~~
He said: I think I am going to make a great father someday, because I really have a way with kids. Take the other day for example.
I was in Taekwondo class standing next to a nine or ten-year-old kid. I was watching him out of the corner of my eye while we did punches in the air.
I saw him punching with his wrist bent. Instead of a straight line from his knuckles to his elbow, he was pointing his knuckles down at the end of every punch. This is a problem when you do finally hit a solid target, because you will break your wrist.
With the aim of helping him out and correcting his mistake, I grabbed him after class and led him over to one of the heavy bags.
“I noticed a mistake in your form,” I told him, “and I want to show you how to correct it.” “Here, take a fighting stance. Now, punch the bag as hard as you can!”
He threw a vicious over-handed punch and let out a scream as his wrist buckled and he collapsed to the floor cradling his forearm.
“Now,” I continued, “let me show you what you did wrong!”
~~~
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
~~~
A father was shopping in a department store with his small daughter, when the little girl pulls on his coat sleeve and announces, “Daddy, I have to go!”
“In a few minutes, sweetie.” says the dad.
“But, I’ve got to go NOW,” the little girl insists in a loud voice.
A saleslady standing nearby can’t help but hear the conversation and says, “I’ll take her, sir. It’s no problem.”
So, as the father watches, the two hurry off hand in hand. When they return the father asks his daughter, “Did you thank the nice lady for being so kind?”
“Why should I thank her?” asks the little girl in a loud voice. “She had to go, too!”
~~~
There is a guaranteed way to get what you want: want less.
~~~
At the end of a job interview, a young Engineer fresh out of MIT was asked, “And what starting salary were you looking for?”
The Engineer replied, “In the neighborhood of $150,000 a year, depending on the benefits package.”
The interviewer said, “Well, what would you say to a package of 6-weeks vacation, 21 paid holidays, full medical and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50% of salary, and a company car leased every 2 years – say, a Corvette?”
The Engineer sat up straight and said, “Wow! Are you kidding?”
And the interviewer replied, “Yeah, but you started it.
~~~
One half the world doesn’t understand the other half and it doesn’t matter which half you’re in.
~~~
A baby was just born. He had all his pieces and looked quite normal, except that he was laughing like crazy. I mean laughing real hard. All the doctors and nurses were examining the little thing, in front of the worried parents, but he kept on laughing, his tiny fists all closed and tears rolling from his eyes. One at a time, a pediatrician unfolded the tiny fingers to check if the hand was all right, and… guess what he found? The birth control pill!
~~~
It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.
Hans Selye
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I just got back from a sailing holiday where I remembered this true tale you might be interested in. A friend was looking for a second hand boat (a Laser) to buy, when he hit on a great idea… At his sailing club (the Queen Mary in London) there was a large trailer park and a smaller yard where the management put trailers and boats if the owner didn’t pay their membership for 12 months. The Queen Mary club is very big and at the time there were three or four Lasers in this yard that judging from their condition hadn’t been sailed for at least a year.
My friend took down the numbers of these boats and asked the club secretary for the owners address so that he could make them an offer. The first chap he rang said he wasn’t interested in selling as he was going to sail it himself “one of these days”.
He then rang the second owner who lived about 100 miles away. A woman answered the phone and confirmed that they did still own the Laser. My friend explained that he had seen it in the defaulters yard and that as it clearly hadn’t been sailed for a year – did she think her husband would be interested in selling?
“Oh no” she said “there must be some mistake – come rain or shine my husband spends one weekend a month in London sailing…”
I bet he had some explaining to do when he got home!
~~~
“The most beautiful people I’ve known are those who have known trials, have known struggles, have known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.”
Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
~~~
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than twenty years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@gmail.com. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are more than 2000 readers from around the world.
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