Acceptance of Life's Challenges

Acceptance Frees Us Faster than Blaming Reality,

Excerpted from If it weren’t for You, We could get along! How to Stop Blaming and Start Living (DC Press, Sanford, FL) Dr. Lewis E. Losoncy

"If it weren't for all the things that shouldn't be (according to me), I could be happy!"

LOVE WHAT YOU CAN"T CHANGE. WHY? BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO DWELL ON IT ANYMORE

I love the weather. I was going to be a meteorologist until I found out there was some math involved. And, on top of that, science. All of us discipline problems were pretty good at math because whenever we acted up in grade school, the num would give us math drill cards to do after school. And it seemed to me that after doing the late weather after 11, I didn't want to hang around dividing seven digit numbers by four digit numbers.

Anyway, I love the weather, and my favorite station is the weather channel. Why? Because it is a place I can relax. I do not have the tension like I do watching Regis ask questions and not getting them right, or running out of lifelines. I do not play a role in the weather. I can watch it unfold, unlike a TV program or a movie, where people are just getting paid to mimic the words of a writer, weather is real. I love the weather because the pressure is off me.

I can't change the weather. I love things I can't change. I can take my energies somewhere else. That's where the pressure is on.

REALITY HAS MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO THAN TO PUT CHALLENGES IN MY WAY

When the light turns red, it means stop. Nothing more, nothing less. Some people give that light more power than it has. Perhaps you have even seen people talk to traffic lights, even yell at them. I suspect that the light is unaffected by this useless monologue.

But some of my friends who are unbendingly determined to make themselves miserable at every opportunity, caution me that if you yell at the light long enough, and loud enough, it will soon change. They are right. The light will change in about 30-45 seconds, either way!

When we find our self on what seems to be a bumpy road and realize that is a flat tire instead, the person with practical intelligence decides that a great choice would be to pull over and fix the flat tire. Nothing more, nothing less. The person, a little slower to grab hold of what is happening here, immediately goes into the blame mode, searching mentally for people and things to blame.

"These tires are no good."

"This car always has a problem."

"If my boss gave me that pay raise I deserve, I could have bought better tires."

"These roads are rotten."

"My wife forgot to send in my AAA's renewal card. I'll have to pay to have this thing towed."

"Why didn't I put a spare in the car after the last flat?"

This blaming, of course, could go on forever. The amount of things we blame for our situation is only limited to our creative mind's determination to avoid taking action and solving the problem. Remember, these events are neither good nor bad. They just are!

The person with practical intelligence wants to make the connection between cause and effect, and then solve the problem.

"Hmm, the car is wobbling, but the road looks fine. It must be a flat tire. Thank God, I understand what the problem is. I'll pull over to the side and fix it. I will have the car towed since I don't have a spare."

Notice, stress free by solving instead of blaming.

Love the things you can't change. Why? Because you don't have to worry about them. You can't change them anyway. And then focus your energies on the things you can change.

I FOUGHT REALITY & REALITY WON

I believe that life is incredibly simple and that it is people who make it complex. Most people frustrate themselves and make their lives difficult by making THE ULTIMATE HUMAN EXPERIENCE-the mistake of losing sight of reality. 99% of us are partially out of touch with reality at one time or another. These are the times when we confuse "what we wish to be" with "what actually is" in life. We reduce ourselves to having the intelligence of a dog chasing the wheels of a car. Instead, succeed by saving yourself a lot of energy by chiseling these three words into your mental fabric: "What Is, Is."

Motivation lectures and positive attitude books often neglect an important point about reality. Your start toward Success City is reality. If you are so high that you think you could fly, it would be a grave error to ignore the reality of the law of gravity. As Bertrand Russell once commented, "Any man who maintains that happiness comes wholly from within should be prepared to spend thirty-six hours in rags in a blizzard without food." This point is not meant to discourage you. I feel, perhaps, a parental need not to have you fall flat on your face. That will only discourage you and keep you from being successful, thus not helping the rest of humanity. We need you. So face the fact that there will be barriers, but through creative thinking, enthusiasm, and goal setting, these obstacles can be overcome. So when I say, "What Is, Is," it is meant to encourage you. When you accept this fact of reality, you have an invigorating, challenging starting point. Dreamers who faced reality and learned how to reach the heavens despite the realities of gravity were those who designed planes and spacecraft. Wishers, on the other hand, who didn't take reality into consideration only experienced frustration. Increase your Practical Intelligence by getting a keen sense of reality. Never again be frustrated by putting reality "where it isn't."

SEEING REALITY FOR WHAT IT IS

Lock into your mind forever these three facts about reality, and you will find yourself managing your life by a realistic goal orientation:

FACT 1: Reality is not what we wish it to be; rather, reality is what it is.

FACT 2: Reality is not interested in what each of us thinks it "should be," rather, reality is what it is.

FACT 3: Reality is not just or fair; rather, reality is what it is.

FACT 1: Reality is not what we wish it to be; rather, reality is what it is.

Don't get caught in the "wisher's web." Reality has no respect for wishers. Wishing away a thunderstorm or wishing a million-dollar-lottery win are in the almost guaranteed routes of failures. Not only is wishing an ineffective course of action, but it is a frustrating route as well. That is what concerns me about you. I don't want you to be discouraged in your trip to Success City because you made the error of wishing that the 200-mile journey was only 50 miles and eventually became frustrated. It is 200 miles. But after facing reality head on, if you use creative thinking and enthusiasm, you will find a way. People living in the Sea of Fantasy off of the Coast of Reality dream up a world that doesn't exist, and then they get frustrated when the world they wished for "lets them down." The world, in fact, didn't let them down. The problem was that they were living on wishes which were false "pick-me-ups" in the first place. If you want to eat, stop wishing and start fishing. Don't compromise one moment of your dream; just make sure that you are clear that your starting point is on firm ground.

FACT 2: Reality is not interested in what each of us thinks it "should be;" rather, reality is what it is.

Most of the people in the world bat their heads up against the wall of reality by confusing what they think "should be" with what actually is. If you take the following sentence and make it part of your life, you will never again be unhappy or frustrated for more than just a few seconds. Here it is:

THERE ARE NO SHOULDS, OUGHTS, OR MUSTS IN THE WHOLE WORLD... NONE! EVERY TIME WE SAY ANY OF THOSE WORDS, WE ARE RUNNING FULL FORCE AWAY FROM REALITY. INSTEAD OF SAYING "SHOULD," "OUGHT," OR "MUST," LEARN THE ONLY WORDS THAT WILL LEAD TO SUCCESS. What are those magic words? They are: WHAT IS MY PLAN? Observe how people sit in their SHOULD seats and run away from reality. Allow me to share a few of my experiences with SHOULD

THINKERS.

A client of mine who came late for one of our appointments told me apologetically, "I'm sorry I'm late, but I caught ten red lights in a row. You should never get that many." My response was the only logical one I could give. I asked Barb, "Exactly how many red lights SHOULD you get? Think about it….

At a party, I listened to someone say that she began her diet. I was elated for her goal-setting spirit. Soon afterward, we arrived at a birthday party. It wasn't long before the hostess was walking with her tray, serving cake and ice cream. When the bright-eyed women turned to us, she enticed my friend, who had just claimed she started her diet that day, by asking, "Would you care for some marble cake and ice cream?"

Hold on to your sombrero when you hear my friend's response.

"Oh, I SHOULDN'T have any cake.. .but I guess it won't hurt!

I looked at her and responded, "What would be

your second guess?"

Yes, LIFE IS INCREDIBLY SIMPLE, but people make it difficult when they do as psychologist Albert Ellis says, "They SHOULD on themselves."

Eliminate the words "should, "ought", and "must" and instead say, "WHAT IS MY PLAN?" You will be amazed how many people who fail have vocabularies filled with those unproductive words. Become a "WHATS-MY-PLAN?" thinker.

FACT 3: Reality is not just or fair; rather, reality is what it is.

It would do my mind and heart a lot of good if I didn't have to write this because it is inconsistent with my former strongly held beliefs. But it appears to me that if you want to succeed and help the world, you need to accept the fact that REALITY IS NEITHER JUST NOR FAIR. The minute that we allow this insight to permeate our minds, that's the minute that we can bring about a positive change….

It is important for me to say here that justice is a most noteworthy ideal and that I would be glad to be right up front leading the parade for a more just world. But the fact is that the world is not just or fair, and demanding that it be so is not only ineffective, but frustrating. Together, let's develop a plan to change that fact. Together, let's develop a plan to change that fact.

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING

Once a person who has developed his practical intelligence meets reality head on, face to face, and decides that he would rather accept what he chooses not to change that fight the uphill battle, his energies are freed to face the challenges on the ground.

I can't live forever. I can't fly without help. But I can:

1. choose my attitude

2. compliment a friend

3. smile

4. exercise and feel great after

5. dress up

6. choose what I will eat tonight

7. write a poem

8. decide between a mounds bar and an almond joy next time I am in a store

9. think of people who love me

10. go to the public library

11. say, "I'm sorry"

12. give a hug

13. make a child's day

14. create

15. listen

16. sing

17. write a poem

18. forgive

19. take a walk

20. take a hot bath

21. jump rope

22. climb a small tree

23. listen to my favorite music

24. have dinner tonight, with candle light

25. buy someone a card

26. make a card for someone

27. try to make my own soft pretzels

28. go to a movie

29. thank someone for doing something very ordinary

30. see the people around me in new, fresh, exciting ways

31. leave a note at home for my loved ones to discover

32. remember how much I wanted my spouse a few years back

33. go to a public park

34. bounce a ball

35. include somebody who feels left out

36. set new goals

37. borrow a dog

38. read a positive book

39. write a letter to the president and see if I get one back

40. try to do a pushup

41. enroll in a karate class and see if I can get to the second belt

42. realize how great a really good apple or pear can taste

43. imagine anything

44. mix ice cream flavors together to create a new one

45. try to guess how fast elephants can run

46. conduct a survey with people on a topic I am interested in

47. read the Guinness Book of Records and see which one I have the best chance of beating

48. take the coke pepsi test and see how accurate I am

49. go to a flower shop

50. estimate the amount of steps it takes me to walk the block in front on my house

Just because you can't live forever or fly by yourself today doesn't mean you can't do anything.

WHEN SOMEONE SAYS, "FACE REALITY," THANK THEM!

A friend of mine was listening to my wild idea, and stopped me with a, "face reality." He was focusing in on all of the barriers I would face in attempting to get this idea off the ground. At first, his comment stopped my momentum. I started reflecting on the challenges, the problems, the probability and found myself creating my own discouragement. I was subconsciously blaming reality. It shouldn't be this difficult.

Then I listened to his words, "Face Reality," a different way. If I am going to face reality, the starting point of reality is that, "I am alive. And that wouldn't have to be!"

I turned to my friend who just cautioned me to face reality and shook his hand, before I ran up the street inspired.

I exclaimed, "Thank you so much Bob. Occasionally I do forget to face reality. Occasionally I do forget that I am alive, am lucky enough to have a great wife and daughter, to have a good job, to live in America and to be in good health, three meals a day, a home, a car. Thank you.

Sometimes we hear, "Face reality," the wrong way. The way that doesn't work. Develop your practical intelligence and face reality. And thank others when they remind you to do, as well.

YOU ARE TRYING WAY TOO HARD

After arriving in Dallas to speak at a convention, someone stops me in the hallway and says, "I didn't know you were going to be here at the convention. I am so excited to meet you. I am going to try to get into your talk tomorrow morning."

I grabbed my heart, looked all fatigued, weak and drained-out, and responded, "Oh no, please, please don't try. I'm already burnt out thinking about how hard you are going to have to work at this trying. In fact, you now have to do two thing to get to the talk; first, you have to try. Then, second, you are going to have to get there. This is overwhelming, my hearts beating fast, I'm sweating, I'm close to having an anxiety attack. Every time I have to try, it usually is so overwhelming and draining, I can't get it done."

I stopped for a moment to observe his confused face and added, "My friend. Don't make it so hard on yourself. Stop trying, and instead just show up over there in the Enterprise Room at eight am. But if you have to try, you'll never make it."

As I arrived at seven am the next morning in the room, there was my newfound friend already seated. The first one in the classroom.

"I see you didn't try to get here today, huh? I asked.

"No way. This was too important for me to try to be here. I just decided to be here. It was effortless," he responded.

When you ask your daughter to clean up her room, and she tells you she'll try, let her know that you are not asking that much out of her.

"Oh honey, I'm not asking for you to go that far and try. I'm not asking that you do two things, first to try and then, to actually do. I'm just asking that you take action and clean up your room. It'll be so much easier if you don't have to try first."

After a confused silence, you'll start to hear the vacuum cleaner on. You've taken away the hard work of trying so that she can effortlessly go about the business of cleaning up her room.

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE

We don't know reality directly; we know it through the words we choose to use. Words are powerful, emotional triggers.

In What is, is!, Diane Losoncy and I suggested words to eliminate from our vocabulary to develop our practical intelligence.

Eliminate, "shoulds," "oughts," and "musts." We learned these from our teacher, Albert Ellis. As I discussed earlier in this chapter, reality is not the way we want it to be; reality is the way it is. Some people get angry and blame the world for it not being the way they want it to be. They then demand that the universe adjust itself to be more convenient for them, You can see their demands in the frequent uses of their words, "should," "ought," and "must"….

DEVASTATED OR INCONVENIENCED?

Since events become whatever we label them, we play a role in how much an event impacts us by the words we choose to give to the event.

While speaking about turning catastrophes into inconveniences in Des Moines, Iowa to a group of about 1500 hairdressers, I tripped over my microphone wire. I fell off the stage and landed on the floor. The group of mid-westerners were polite and concerned. As I picked myself up and walked back on to the stage, I reacted, "That, for example was an inconvenience."

The silence was broken as the group started to chuckle.

"Yes," I ad-libbed, "that was an inconvenience. Why? Because I fell and I hurt myself a little. Was it a tragedy? No. Could it have been? Yes, of course, if I called it a 'tragedy.' If I labeled the event a 'tragedy,' I probably would have not walked back on to the stage. I also may have quit speaking for a living. Or I could make it an catastrophe by calling it a catastrophe. But I choose to call it an inconvenience. So that is what it becomes to me.

I continued, "Now, to be honest with you, did I want to fall? Well, if it was on a ballot, I would have voted, 'no.' But should I have fallen? Of course, because the only thing underneath my feet was air. I had to have fallen!"

Years later, a lady in that group moved to Wyoming. One evening, she drove her car into her beauty salon. Her husband was in the car with her. Can you imagine. There is she in her car, in her beauty salon in a state of panic. And all of a sudden, remembering the program in Iowa, she started to laugh and cry at the same time and turned to her husband and said, "This is just an inconvenience." They backed their car out, they hugged, and they planned their new salon.

Years later she told me, "Dr. Lew, you have to come see our new salon. Its beautiful. And, you know, fortunately we'd been through a minor inconvenience. Had we been through a tragedy, we could have never bounced back. But if go through a minor inconvenience, like we did, it doesn't take long to rebuild."

Watch your language. Don't make a tough reality tougher. You get tougher, and the tough reality melts in your will.

THANK YOUR CRITICS FOR THE FREE ADVICE

Part of dealing with reality is handling criticism from others. The person who needs practical intelligence development, when criticized;

• gets hurt

• attacks the critic ("You're not so hot yourself")

• defends ("If it weren't for...")

• denies

• most unfortunately, misses information

Contrarily, the person with high practical intelligence welcomes criticism as a source of potential learnings. When criticized, he listens to the criticism and simply asks himself the question, "How can I use the information he is giving me to help me become a better person?"

You'll notice, there is no pain, hurt, anger or desire for revenge, and no defensiveness. Just a simple determination to learn and to grow.

Think of the last time someone criticized you. Block out everything but the person's words and your desire to focus in on how you can use the person's words to become the best you can be. Let it in.

Make a mental note of what you learned.

Now respond defensively and personally to the critic's attack, and see what you learn and how you feel.

You probably sense that when you handled the criticism with practical intelligence and a desire to learn and grow, you didn't get upset or hurt, didn't experience anger or a desire for revenge, didn't think of the critic's imperfections, and, most importantly, you got information that can help you to grow.

Maybe you even have a desire to thank the critic. All of those benefits come to you by making a choice to accept reality, instead of blaming it. That's why that decision is called practical intelligence. Because it works much, much better.

Instead of blaming reality, we developed our practical intelligence to not only accept, but to love things we choose not to change.

Excerpted from If it weren’t for You, We could get along! How to Stop Blaming and Start Living (DC Press, Sanford, FL) by Dr. Lewis E. Losoncy.

Dr. Lewis E. Losoncy is a psychologist and author of If it weren’t for You, We could get along! How to Stop Blaming and Start Living and 16 more books on the topics of encouragement, motivation, teamwork and positive attitude. He has spoken throughout the U.S., Canada and internationally as well. He has appeared on TV programs such as CNN and CBS This Morning and in media as varied as The Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today and Talk. For more information on Losoncy and his books, contact DC Press at www.focusonethics.com, 407-688-1156.