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Our
greatest glory is not in never failing,
but in rising every time we fail.
~ Confucius
I am
always in awe of the beauty found in spring. It's my
favorite season with the bright sun, gentle rains, vibrant colors
and warmer temperatures. One of the most special sights from
my office window is to look out and see the yellow daffodils
peeking out and coming up. I am always amazed that they come
up year after year as beautiful as ever.
That's the wondrous thing about us humans as well. Over and
over again, year after year, we keep blooming. We are given
second chances to shine.
Have you ever failed miserably at something? Have you ever
made a big mistake that seemed impossible to fix? Or had an
illness from which you thought you might not recover? Maybe
you are facing some of these challenges now.
If so, I have good news for you! You have a second
chance. You get to wipe the slate clean and start all over
again. You have a blank canvas and get to paint a new
creation. Don't give up! Just look for your second
chance.
Do you know what a second chance looks like? Most often, it
is not dressed as we have imagined it to be. Sometimes it
requires being able to see the big picture in order to see the
gift found in a second chance. You have to put on your
"second chance spectacles" and look for it or you could
just miss it altogether. What a shame that would be.
Second chances are blessings! They are grace at its very
core.
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Maybe your second chance looks like a different partner, and not
the one you thought you'd grow old with, to travel with you
through life. Or maybe it looks like a different job instead
of the one you thought you "had" to have. It could
look like a new location in which to live instead of where you
have grown comfortably. Or medicine that makes you feel ill,
in order to ultimately heal you. Maybe your second chance is
simply the opportunity for you to share who you are with others
instead of hiding behind an image.
How do you recognize the second chances that come your way?
I'd like to offer three suggestions that will help you see them:
1. Let go of the past. Learn your lessons. . . never forget
them, but move on. Learn to forgive others and, (this is a
biggie!), learn to forgive yourself. It's difficult to move
forward and take advantage of second chances if you are stuck in
the past. Let it go.
Finish
each day and be done with it. You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities no doubt creep in; forget them as
soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and
serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old
nonsense. This day is all that is good and fair. It is
too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the
yesterdays.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
2.
Develop a positive attitude and awareness. Expect the best
and look for the good. Become conscious of opportunities and
very often you will find them right under your nose. Second
chances can be quiet and disguised -- one has to be on the lookout
for them.
Thomas Jefferson said, "Nothing can stop the man with the
right mental attitude from achieving his goal. Nothing on
earth can help the man with the wrong attitude."
Develop the right attitude for you and see what happens.
3. Persevere. Keep on. Figure it out. Press
on. If one approach doesn't work the way you would like it
to, then try another. Do what you gotta do.
One of my very favorite quotes is from Ann Landers, who says,
"If I were asked to give what I consider the single most
important piece of advice for all humanity, it would be
this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when
it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and
say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat
me.'"
Wow. I love that!
So, then, our success formula is:
Let Go + Positive Attitude + Perseverance = Second Chances
When I see the April daffodils popping up as they do, I am
reminded of how they, like us, are given the chance to grow,
become stronger and more beautiful with each spring season.
It's a time of new beginnings -- a time for second chances. Will
you claim yours?
Beth
Burns is a Professional Life Coach, partnering with motivated
people on their personal and professional goals.
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