I had quite an interesting
month of March to say the least. Jam packed with ups & downs. Situations
some would envy, circumstances some would pity. I started the month off by
having the tire of my old car slashed by an angry stranger in the parking lot
at work, and ended the month having my new car tampered with by a disgruntled
former associate, in the very same parking lot. Funny how things come full
circle that way. But I'm getting way ahead of myself here so I'll backtrack. At
the start of the month I found myself in a new situation with what I guess you
could call a special friend. Things were great. As the month went on, things
got progressively worse and it was a strain on me as I watched my friend turn
into a completely different person and the situation grew incredibly toxic. Our
friendship suffered because there wasn't much to hold onto, I simply couldn't
do it anymore. It sucked, because the person I started the month with was
completely gone, so it felt like I'd lost a very close friend. By the end of
the month all contact was cut off.
At the start of the month I
found myself in a familiar situation with a car I'd grown tired of. No pun
intended. I upset a lady in the parking lot on my way to work by taking the
parking spot that rightfully belonged to me. A day later while driving home I
realized that my tire was flat. She cut it. I had to come out of pocket with
money that I'd been saving for a new car to buy a new tire for the car I was
tired of. That was incredibly frustrating. Shortly after, my situation turned
around. I got a new car and immediately made an Instagram appearance. Things
were going well. I spent all of the money in my account on it but I wasn't
worried because I was planning to sell my old car at CarMax and immediately recover
financially, which worked out perfectly because I had a trip planned right
after. Didn't work out that way. CarMax gave me an offer so low I refused to
accept it. So suddenly I was an hour away from leaving for the weekend and
found myself flat broke. Few feelings are worse than being broke when you
thought you'd have money. Come to think of it, this might be better explained
by this unfinished blurb that's sitting in my notepad. "I'm in that Benz
with the paper tag. That ain't to flex, man I hate to brag. It's just in the
process in which I state the facts of how I bought a Benz and now I can't pay
for gas. Saved up first to see how long my paper lasts. Thinking I'ma sell the
Jetta and just make it back. Took it to CarMax, they dam near told me take it
back. Now I need money from my pops, but I hate to ask. Cause I feel I regress
a bit every time I say "Thank You Dad" Chloe said I'll spot you,
don't worry just pay me back. Somehow I've been reduced to handouts, how insane
is that?" So here we are, the last weekend of the month and I've had my
fair share of highs and lows. That ended up being one of the roughest weekends
in recent memory for me but I kept it to myself. I took an L that it felt like
I'd never recover from. A lifelong loss. I felt like I'd lost my best friends.
After escaping that low feeling, on the last day of the month I walked out of
work to see that my car had been messed with. An apparently fitting end to what
seems on the surface to be a very trying month.
But that's the beauty of it,
it wasn't a difficult month. Didn't feel that way at all. I was in high spirits
all month for the most part. In retrospect, March was a fantastic month for me.
What I've learned recently is that many times you can't control what happens to
you, but you have full control over how you react to it and the effect it has
on you. At the end of the day, negativity is a choice. I've learned to find
positives in every situation, and that's helped me navigate life's twists and
turns. If you're on the highway and it starts raining, do you pull over and
complain about the weather or do you figure it out and get to your destination?
Do what you have to do to get out of the rain, it's that simple. You may find
it strange that I only spoke on the low points of March in this post. Well the
way I see it, the blog is sort of a learning experience. I learn from
everything I write, and I hope people learn things by reading. A wise man once
said "Was taught to be a winner but I learned more from my losses" -
Fab
Some amazing things happened
for me in the month of March but they'll reveal themselves in due time. Those
positives are what I focus on, and they make my losses seem minuscule and
irrelevant. We all take L's. It's a part of life. But positivity is always an
option. Chase heaven or wait for hell to find you. Defy your L's, don't let
your L's define you. My friend Jalen inspired this post because we were
discussing circumstances and he said "No matter what, we're always given a
choice. You can either conquer your problems or be overcome by them. You can be
a victor or a victim." I won't ever forget that and I hope anyone reading
this won't either. Losses end games, losses end streaks, they even end seasons.
But losses don't end careers. No matter how many losses you take you can come
back and try to win until YOU decide to give up. No one has ever been forced to
retire because of a loss. The Lakers have lost 60 games and Kobe is only
retiring because he wants to. You don't get to the end without taking a few
losses along the way. There are two L's in Finally. Don't be a
victim. I have a philosophy that I've lived by as of late where I do my best to
make sure I don't let the same thing ruin my day two days in a row. I don't
pull over and sit in the rain. Win or lose, victors cruise.
#GetOutOfTheRain2016
-Swaggy T
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