The Tribune

By Spence M Finlayson

"A Man who is born of woman, is of a few days and full of trouble." -- Job 14:1

HISTORICALLY, mothers have always had great intuition and generally commonsense. My late mother was a gifted overcomer with a powerful sense of dealing with the adversities of life. Whenever I am experiencing a personal or professional challenge, I refer back to my mother's little box of 'life's instructions.' With the global economy in the doldrums there have been many persons facing serious setbacks like terminations, foreclosures on homes, automobile repossession, evictions from rental apartments and the like.

When we are faced with the difficult days Mama talked about we must not fear the winds of adversity and always remember that a kite rises against the wind rather than with it. As Og Mandino says: "Search for the seed of good in every adversity." Yes friends, while you are going through your difficulty keep in mind that this too shall pass! You know it's the ants in our lives that trip us up and not the elephants. Learn to deal with the small before it becomes the big stuff.

Nobody is exempt from bad days, days when nothing seems to go right; Murphy's Law is running rampant and is in full effect. You start out for work and you discover you have a flat tyre. You procrastinated and did not repair your spare tyre. You forgot to pay your cell 'phone bill and it has been disconnected and you are expecting some important calls from your clients. Because you were running late, you left an important report that you needed for your presentation at your managers' meeting. So, if you are having a really bad day it may be a good idea to withdraw a little if you can. Take a long walk during your lunch break to 'clear' your head and to refocus. You may even consider going home early and regrouping for the next day.

Remember as Elbert Hubbard said: "Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive." The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude. Yes, your attitude will make the difference. So as you go through your day be encouraged and know that it will change. Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they are supposed to help you discover who you are and what you are made of. Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; its about learning to dance in the rain. I can recall a situation that I found myself in many years ago. I had owned a beautiful sports car, a cherished possession and I loaned it to my nephew to attend his high school prom. Well, he wrote the car off and the next morning when I had to give a motivational presentation to a major commercial bank in the Bahamas.

My mind was obviously still on my little red sports car but I gave one of my best motivational speeches that morning. You see I didn't wait for the "storm" to pass instead I was "dancing in the rain".

One unknown author said: "You never see bad days in a photo album, but it is these days that get us from one happy snapshot to the next." I have learned not to refer to my days as bad anymore. To me now everyday is a good day because this is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. Top motivational speaker Zig Ziglar from Dallas, Texas says "If you don't believe that every day is a good day then you try missing one of these days and you will see what happens." I am a big fan of Zig Ziglar whom I met personally at a Masters of the Success Conference in Miami, Florida. His best-selling book "See You At The Top" is one of my all time favorites.

When I am experiencing a challenge during my day I ask myself an important question - what did this come to teach me? The seemingly bad day is just one of the lessons in the University of Life curriculum. I must learn as much as I can so I can master it. Don't give into the "bad day syndrome." Stay focused on what you are trying to achieve, rising above your circumstances. I am here to tell you that you can start your day over at any time during the day. Finally, as Marianne Williamson says: "If you knew who walks beside you at all times on the path that you have chosen , you can never experience fear or doubt again ."

• Spence M Finlayson, Bahamian born International Motivational Speaker, Corporate Trainer and Talk Show host is the Founder & CEO of The Phoenix Institute for Positive Development & Empowerment , a human resources development firm locally based with a global reach. He has conducted seminars and workshops in over 22 Foreign countries , He is celebrating 30 years in business. He can be reached at phoenixinstitute@gmail.com or 242-601-6162