Dealing with Life Challenges...

You know that life just hands you a new set of cards when the deck gets shuffled and the cards end up in your hand. I'm not a poker player since I've got no ability to keep a straight face no matter what the cards (wow look! Aces!), but the truly unique part about it is that every hand is a winner and every hand is a loser. It's all in how you play the cards that you've got.

A novice player would read the odds and fold when the cards sucked - but experienced players can take nothing and work the environment (the other players) to milk a much better result than if he just threw is money away. I kind of feel that's what I'm up against right now in my own life.

What I'm finding out is that (as I wrote yesterday) that when things are out of control, it is nice to feel comfort in those things that you do. For me, it's to keep positive since nothing good has ever come out of panicking - so for that I can choose to stay focused on the good things. In secondary areas - having some feeling of control of my diet is a positive change that lends quite a bit of confidence to me. Maybe it's coupled with the positive attitude to make a rather formidable duo, but in the end it seems to be working.

The other part of this is that I've been through this before, plus I've had several jobs at different companies over my career and the one thing that I've been able to pull out of this is that my job/career doesn't define me as a person and change can be dealt with.

It's actually kind of funny when you think about what we do in a cultural setting in this country. How often when you meet someone new do you automatically go to the question: "So, what do you do (for a living)?" As if their answer will somehow give us insight into their abilities, talents and qualities as a person.

I have been striving to split that from my exisitence so that my job is not the center of my life nor should it be my moniker (Ryan = Architect). I would much rather have people know me for who I really am than what tasks I performed. I think of Thomas Jefferson's tombstone where he posted his accomplishments in his life (founding the University of Virginia) and not his jobs (President). Which has a greater legacy of impact?

So this is an "earthquake" (as another friend has so eloquently put it) and when things get shaken up, life heads in a new direction. Even though realities of the disaster are tough to deal with in the short run, it is in the long run that catastrophic changes influence and shape.

So in that light, I am finding excitement because it's a new journey to unfold.

As it comes to how I deal with my emotions - especially in the past when I would cave to gorging on unhealthful things - it is an important step to find other means for dealing with how I feel and not let my blood sugar levels dictate my mood. It's not an easy process, but it is an important growth in my life and a cornerstone to my future success as a fit and healthful person.