Changed, Not Reduced

Changed, Not Reduced

Life happens. 

          Tragedy strikes. 

                    Mistakes are made.

                              Setbacks exist. 

Maya Angelou said this about that: 

-I can be changed 

by what happens to me,

but I refuse to be reduced by it.-

I think she may be onto something. 

9-1-1- happened, but look at the way we Americans responded.  We united with hands and arms linked together.  We banded together and conquered and are surviving.  Sure, we were set back.  But we were not reduced by it. 

My friend Chuck owns a large retail store.  A once trusted employee of his embezzled a rather large sum of money.  That is a game changer.  On some days, Chuck wondered if he would even be open the next business day.  But he continues.  He had to structure things a bit differently, but he is not reduced by it.

He’s still in the game.  He’s still open.  He’s still serving his customers with grand style.  He still has a smile on his face. 

-He could be bitter.

-He could be distrustful of all employees now.

-He could have given up.

But he chose to conquer.  He chose to rise above it all, repair the damage done, and move on down the road.

Chuck is not reduced by this awful experience.  He is better for it.  Different, but better.

Chad Hymas was a farmer on April 2, 2001.

On April 3, 2001 he was a quadriplegic. 

He was changed by that accident, but he was not reduced by it. 

 Order Chad's book.  Click here.

See the difference?

See the mindset that’s at play here?

It’s not what happens 

to me that matters.  

Its how I choose to respond 

to what’s happened 

that makes the difference. 

If you read the biographies of famous people, sooner or later you will see that tragedies sometimes come along in buckets and truck loads, but somehow they find a way to overcome.  They may be temporarily down, but they’re not out.  They chose to grow because of these circumstances, not be reduced by them.

Steve Jobs helped start Apple Computers.  He was ousted.  He came back stronger and more focused than before.  In the intervening years he found other venues for his talents. 

Franklin Roosevelt had polio.  It was a game changer for him, but he wasn’t reduced by it.

Stephen Hawkins contracted motor neurone disease in 1963, yet he became known as one of the most brilliant mathematical minds in the world.  He is the stuff of which legends are made.  I once skimmed his book A Brief History in Time.  He was changed by this disease, but he was not reduced by it.

What is on your plate?  What has come along in your life and now you are dealing with this game changing incident?

There are a few questions that others have asked when life-changing circumstances come along.  Here they are.

1.      What just happened?  

       How much damage has been done?  

        They understand what has happened as fully as possible.    

2.      What can we do to stabilize the situation for      the moment?

3.      What will it take to restore, rebuild or               reorganize?

4.      To whom can we turn for help now that this         has happened?

5.      What is a reasonable time line for                      restoration?

6.      What new directions might we pursue from here?

7.      What can I possibly learn from all of this?

One thing I do know – you can rise from the ashes of your challenge.  Others before you have and you can too. 

Usually, there are no quick fixes.  But, with one step at a time, one day at a time, order does get reestablished, and recovery happens.

Change is not all bad.  Change can be good.

Be enlarged by your opportunities.

P Michael Biggs

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