“If you stay positive, you have a shot at a silver lining.”
~Pat (Bradley Cooper), from “Silver Linings Playbook”
After my three week trip back east and coming home Wednesday completely exhausted, I found myself on Friday night wanting to get out. There is a great movie theatre near me that is a restaurant-style movie theatre, so I thought, “what the heck!” I will take myself out to a movie! I was in need of motivation, so Hansel and Gretel was out! I decided to go see Silver Linings Playbook. Ok, I will admit, Bradley Cooper did have something to do with this decision…why lie, but I was so glad that I went!
In short, Pat (Bradley Cooper) is a mental case. He gets out of an institution after an eight month stay to live with his parents (Robert DeNiro playing his equally emotionally challenged father) to get his life back on track. I won’t give the rest of the movie away but what caught my attention was Pat’s attitude. In coaching, we use affirmations or “trigger words” to help snap people out of destructive thinking habits. Triggers can be positive or negative. Ex-addicts understand the word “trigger” well…they are taught to stay away from triggers in order to stay clean. Pat had 2 triggers – his negative one being a song that he heard in his head when he became stressed out and was about to have an episode and a positive one, which was only one word: Excelsior. Excelsior was a word Pat used to stay positive. It reminded him that there is always a silver lining if you look hard enough and to never give up.
We all have our own personal challenges. Everyone has asked themselves the question “why me?” at some point in their lives. My personal belief is that these challenges are a blessing. We have the challenges that we have because that is the exact area in which we need healing. How are you supposed to heal something if you are unaware of it needing healing? Besides, if you had nothing in your life to work on – if everything was perfect – admit it, you would be bored! Your life would be like watching paint dry! The challenges in our lives are what give our life color, they are what make us strive to be better than we are and they are what make us human.
The real challenge is who you decide to be as you overcome your challenges? Do you know your triggers – good and bad? What are you doing every day to make yourself a better person? What is your definition of a “good person?” Do you see the lining as silver or gray?
If you do just one small thing a day for yourself out of love, you will soon see that the life you are trying so hard to make perfect already is perfect…because YOU are the star!
Trust in life and what you need will be there…always!
Hugs,
Chris
“Choosing the Life You Were Born to Live: How Changing Your Thoughts Will Change Your Life” by Chris Sopa published by Balboa Press
Chris Sopa is founder and owner of Chris Sopa International, Inc. You can learn more about her at www.ChrisSopa.com. Find her at Facebook.com/ChrisSopaInternational, Twitter @ChrisSopa, LinkedIn, and Google+.