"When the Going Gets Tough" - Part 2

"When the Going Gets Tough" - Part 2

As I continue with my thoughts on this topic of, "When the Going Gets Tough..." I do want to take just a moment and look at the thoughts we have already shared together to this point.

FIRST - The fact that things GET TOUGH is just a part of life! I'm sorry to burst your bubble if you didn't already know this but, if you've been lucky enough to live a "tough-free" life up to this point, then you need to prepare yourself because, sooner or later, THEY WILL GET TOUGH! Again, it's just a part of life and the "human experience".

SECOND - The ending part of this phrase, "When the going gets tough the tough get going." isn't always true for us, is it? Sure, we'd love it to be true any and every time we face touch challenges in our lives - but we just don't! And, because of that, many times we beat ourselves up with guilt because we feel week and inferior. Why? Because we are either trying to live up to someone else's expectations of us OR we are falling short of our own expectations in this area. Bottom line: we don't always handle things or face things the way we (or others) think that we should.

THIRD - We looked at one "ending" to this phrase by saying, "When the going gets tough you have to make some CHOICES!" And, in my book, you have only two choices - GIVE UP or GET UP. You can either roll up into a ball and give up OR you can keep fighting ahead with the attitude that you will NEVER, EVER GIVE UP! Hey, even that thought is kind of "rah rah", isn't it? I mean that thought is powerful but it doesn't always live up to the hype. I think it is because of the "image" we have in our minds associated with the idea of "never, ever giving up". But, regardless, the choice is your and you are currently following one of the two paths in your life. Which path are YOU following currently?

AND NOW FOR TODAY'S THOUGHTS - "When the going gets tough you probably need to make some CHANGES!"

This goes along with the "image" I mentioned in point 3 of this article that we often have in our minds when we think about the fact that we will NEVER, EVER GIVE UP!

I applaud your decision to never give up! I SUPPORT your decision to never give up! It is a decision that we all MUST make IF we really ever plan to move forward and make any progress in any area of our lives.

But, if you find yourself continually in difficult situations and things aren't changing the way that you think that they should then, perhaps, you need to make a CHANGE in the way you are approaching/attacking the situation.

We'll talk more about this in the next part of this series but, for now, just consider the "image" of NEVER GIVING UP that you may have in your head.

Is it an image of just pounding away and hitting "the problem" full on - head on - repeatedly until it caves in to your might?

How's that working out for you? (And I say that with a little smile on my face, by the way.)

Maybe it's time we made a change in our approach.

Think about it and, until next time...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

When the Going Gets Tough - Introduction

"When the Going Gets Tough - Introduction"

A couple of things first before I get on to the discussion on today's topic, o.k.?

First of all - I'M BACK, BABY! Oops, sorry for the burst of enthusiasm there (actually, no, I don't really apologize for it!). But, after a 6.5 month lay off from doing my podcast and, in conjunction with it, my podcast on a "regular" basis I've decided it's time to get back on track and "do this thing!"

It was two years ago today (March 2, 2009) that I began my very first podcast on "Hope" so I thought it appropriate to get it going again on the anniversary of this occasion.

(Too, let me also say "Happy Birthday" to my son, Jeremy today!!)

Let me tell you about something new that I'm doing WITH my daily podcast that some of you MIGHT find helpful. While I record my podcast I am also now video taping it as well.

Yeah, that's right, now you get to WATCH my beautiful face while I do the podcast. The good news? IT'S YOUR CHOICE! So, if you decide to do so... all bets are off, o.k.?

Now, that being said, I'm going to mention something about it before someone fusses about the "low tech" approach to the video. Hey, just watch the first one with this topic and you'll see what I'm talking about. Go to my YouTube channel to check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/user/moustachemike?feature=mhum

Anyway, I start the thing out holding up a piece of paper with the "podcast logo" on it. Awesome, huh? Here's the deal. I have a real problem transferring these videos onto my "movie maker" without it freezing up on me. When I am able to use the "movie maker" I can add graphics (such as an actual "podcast logo graphic") as well as overlay website addresses, etc. on the video.

HOWEVER, when I try to do this with a video that is not broken down (like I had to do with my series on "The Promise of Hope") it freezes up and is unable to be used. So, at least for now until I get something else figured out, I need to just upload the video without using any kind of "movie maker" program. So, it's not "high tech" as far as visually BUT I do think it's of value "content-wise".

Here's a free little life lesson for you that connects with this: "PRETTY stuff doesn't always mean it's GOOD stuff!" Right? 'Nuff said about that. Let's move on to the topic at hand for today.

"WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH THE TOUGH GET GOING"

We've all heard that one before, right? And though it is a good "motivational" phrase that may be able to encourage some, it's not always true, is it?

Simply put, what about in YOUR life? Is this always true? Hey, you can answer honestly because I nor anyone else reading this can hear your answer.

We may WANT it to be true. We may FEEL THE NEED for it to be true so that we can live up to someone else's expectation of us. We may WANT IT TO BE TRUE due to our OWN expectations that we place on ourselves.

But, bottom line, it's NOT always true. We DON'T always get up and get going. We DON'T always have this powerful mindset firmly in place so that it may propel us forward with "guns a'blazing".

How does that make you feel?

For those that may be reading or listening to my thoughts for the first time you will soon discover this to be true - I'm real. What I mean by that is that you won't find a lot of "fluff" here. Just honest and, hopefully encouraging, thoughts and ideas.

Hey, but even though I hope the things I share here are encouraging that doesn't mean that it won't "hurt" sometimes. THE TRUTH OFTEN HURTS, right?

So, for the next few podcast and blog posts, I'm going to examine the FIRST PART of this phrase and look at some possible "ending phrases" that we all look at whether we like it or not.

"When the going gets tough..."

Join me for my next podcast and blog entry as I share thoughts on one such ending to that phrase.

Oh, by the way, until my podcast gets finalized/approved over at iTunes, you can go here to here it (and I hope to have the rss feed button up on the right hand column of this blog very shortly):

http://mikespillman.hipcast.com/rss/futureyouuniversity.xml

Alright friends, I am glad to be back doing what I love and I hope you will join me as often as possible. Please feel free to leave comments here, on the fan page at Facebook, on the website (www.FutureYouUniversity.com) which can also be accessed by simply going to www.MichaelSpillman.com or by sending an e-mail to me at: mike@futureyouuniversity.com

And, as always...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)

Mike