How I Made The Choice To Suck It Up And Move On

Is life giving you a rough time now? Are you wondering if the universe is picking on you? Do you wish that you can just hit the “Restore” button like you can on your iPhone and start all over again? I know the feeling all too well, so if you’re there right now, you are not alone.

We don’t always get what we want in life. There are some people who just seem to have everything in control. Then, there are others who are the opposite.

But when you’ve been knocked down, you’ve got two choices. You can continue to lie there and have your own little pity party, or you can dust the dirt off yourself and get up.

I suffered a major life crisis when I lost my mother when I was a young teenager. At that moment, I thought my life was over and there wasn’t anything left for me to live for. Being a “mama’s boy,” I was left confused and lost. I also knew that I was left with two options.

Forked road ahead

Option one was to remain as is and sulk over the situation. Now, as enticing as that may sound, there isn’t any good staying like that. The truth is, when you’re down, nobody really sees you. It’s cold, hard, dirty and just plain nasty. People trample all over you.

I could have played the blame game and started pointing the finger at everything around me. But I know that it is a single player’s game and I will never win. Sure, I may feel good, but it will only last for a moment.

Option two, however, was to accept the situation and pick myself up and get moving. As painful as it was for me at that time, I needed to accept the situation, stay positive and look ahead.

It wasn’t an easy ride, believe me. But the moment I picked myself up, I began to surround myself with people who genuinely cared about me and who were willing to ride this journey with me.

Looking back

I knew that I didn’t want to allow my circumstances and situation to keep me down. I knew what I needed to do.
Today, as I look back on my journey, I am grateful for the people that rode alongside me. I know that in life, you are not an island and you can only achieve a certain result alone, but with others, you can achieve anything.

To quote Vince Lombardi, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, but it’s whether you get back up.”

When life gives you lemons, suck it up and move on.