Life is a Journey

Life is a journey best enjoyed with those you love the most. – Noe A. Lopez

The difference between someone who enjoys their journey and someone who doesn't is choice.

Too many times people want to focus on what’s wrong in their lives. This is a choice. A choice that person has decided to make.  No matter how hard life is or how much adversity you are facing, you decide rather you want to be happy or unhappy.

We all deal with heartache, loss, and despair. Some of us even get angry at life. But ask yourself one simple question. “Where is my focus?” If you are focusing on all that is wrong in your life, then the choice you are making is to be unhappy. A happy person doesn't walk around thinking about all the bad in his or her life.

When I was a student in college, my life was under constant duress and stress. I was a teenage father at 19 years old working two jobs and going to school part time. I was on my own and had no financial help other than the financial aid my university provided. It wasn't much, but it was a small help. I was paying child support and a high interest car loan on a gas guzzling SUV all the while trying to get an education, jumping from one job to my other job. Sometimes my schedule called for work, class, then my other job. There was very little time for rest and relaxation. I wanted to give up.

It felt never ending. And while many other students faced the same or harsher conditions, the prevailing thought was to continue marching forward. We all face the idea of wanting to quit, of wanting to give up. We can recite countless excuses on why it couldn't be done or why it was so hard to accomplish. But this is the choice we have in order to enjoy life. We can choose to give up working for our future or the things we want in life because they were to hard or difficult to attain. Or we can choose to continue working hard and understand hard work is part of the process.  I have yet to come across a person who works hard and isn't rewarded.

As your journey winds down, will you be remembering the perseverance that allowed you to succeed, or have regrets of giving up on your dreams? We all have very distinct journeys but the outcome is dependent on the choices you make. Choose wisely.

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