‘Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we
have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.’― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
The world can be a cruel place.
- You didn’t create the problem, yet you had to clean up the mess.
- You did all the work, but you got none of the rewards.
- A serious health issue from out of nowhere struck you down.
Sometimes life seems so unfair!
But that’s exactly the point, life isn’t fair sometimes.
‘Sometimes it hails on your crops.’
It’s just that kind of planet.’ – Jim Rohn
Sometimes you do everything right, but it still doesn’t go in your favour. There’s so much you have no control over. You won’t get everything you want.
And it’s natural to feel sorry for yourself, to think: ‘Why me? I didn’t do anything to deserve this.’ but it misses the point.
Fair or not, it is what it is. Now you get to respond.
- Do you wallow in self-pity, or do you find renewed resolve?
- Do you turn the other cheek, or do you fight back?
- Do you let disappointment crush your spirit, or do you use it as fuel to push you forward?
Will you reframe the situation as something working for you or against you?
Because Gandalf is right.
Even when your world is falling apart, there’s only one decision you have to make.
What do you do now?