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SPELL SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE>
SPELL SUCCESS - CHOOSE YOUR RESPONSE
Spell SUCCESS E-Zine
by Peter Colwell © 2007
ISSUE 14
Welcome to the "Spell SUCCESS" e-newsletter, a publication
designed to give you insights and ideas for more effective
living. Thank you for being a subscriber and reader. Please
feel free to forward this newsletter to family, friends,
and colleagues who are interested in self-improvement!
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THOUGHT TO PONDER
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"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the
shadow."
HELEN KELLER
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CHOOSE YOUR RESPONSE
Life often moves at a dizzying speed, and many things are
out of our control. But the one thing we do have control
over is our attitude, and most importantly, our RESPONSE to
whatever circumstances life throws our way.
A year and a half ago, on an annual follow visit to the
cardiologist for my son, Peter, I was informed that my 2
½-year-old son (who had undergone open heart surgery at 3
months of age) had an obstruction in his heart due to
re-growth of muscle tissue and that he would need to
undergo another open heart surgery as soon as possible to
save his life.
As I drove to my wife’s workplace to tell her the news, a
police officer pulled me over to the side of the road.
Apparently, in my shocked state, I had gone 10 miles over
the speed limit in a school zone. The officer asked me to
roll down the window, and I immediately burst into tears.
(I don’t think he was expecting such a reaction from a
grown man!). I gave him my license and registration. He
asked me what was wrong. I told him I just found that my
2-year-old son was going to need open heart surgery and I
was on my way to tell my wife. A little shaken himself, he
handed me back my license and said "I just want you to get
there in one piece."
After regrouping, I told my wife the news and we took the
rest of the day off to collect our emotions, and prepare
for the next step. Moments like this make you realize what
a treasure life is and how important the people in your
life really are.
We chose to be hopeful and positive, and have faith in a
good outcome. Three weeks later, our son underwent what was
expected to be a 4-hour operation to remove the muscle
tissue that was restricting the blood flow in his right
ventricle.
The morning of the surgery, the hospital’s concierge gave
me a pager so we would receive messages when our son
underwent bypass, when the repair was completed, and when
he was ready for the recovery room. I should have received
the first page within minutes. However, after 45 minutes of
not hearing any news, I got a bit concerned. I called the
concierge and found out that they had sent me two messages
already – the battery in my pager didn’t work. I rushed
back to the waiting room to tell my family that things were
moving along, and just a few minutes later, the surgeon
came into the room with his gloves off.
He said, "All done! Everything went smoothly. Your son is
breathing on his own, and is resting in the recovery room!"
The anticipated 4-hour surgery was completed in less than
an hour! Our prayers were more than answered!
Miraculously, our son was walking around the next day and
was home within 3 days!
Footnote: Peter has fully recovered and has been given a
clean bill of health. He will be turning 4 soon, and is
looking forward to being a big brother soon!
THE ART OF THE POSITIVE SPIN
No matter what happens to you in life, you can turn your
situation around. It all begins with how you filter the
information that comes to you from the outside – people’s
actions or reactions directed toward you and events and
circumstances that are out of your control. The key to
developing and maintaining a positive mental attitude is to
train your brain to extract the good from the seemingly
bad, the positive from the seemingly negative, and the
hopeful from the seemingly discouraging. This won’t happen
overnight. But if you consistently make an effort to focus
on what’s good or potentially good about a situation, over
time you will notice your life taking an upward turn.
There are many opportunities to practice. Here are a couple
examples:
1) If someone criticizes something you have said or done,
try to objectively look at the criticism and see if there
is a grain of truth in the criticism. If it is constructive
criticism, chances are good that some of the criticism is
justified. Thank the person for their feedback and use that
criticism as an opportunity to improve yourself.
2) When faced with devastating (or potentially devastating)
news, allow yourself to feel the normal emotions of fear,
anxiety, and sadness. Then, take time to gather your
emotions and look for solutions to whatever is causing you
stress. Surround yourself with supportive people who can
lift your spirits and keep you focused on the positives.
Realize that your faith is being tested. Remind yourself
that "This too shall pass."
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"Any fact facing us in not as important as our attitude
toward it, for that determines our success or failure. The
way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever
do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because
you think you are."
NORMAN VINCENT PEALE
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CLOSING THOUGHTS
When you come right down to it, our experiences are shaped
largely by how we respond to the circumstances in our
lives. I encourage you to become mindful of the importance
of your thoughts in creating the life you want and
overcoming challenges along the way.
See you next time,
Peter
Peter Colwell motivates others to motivate themselves!
Peter is the author of Spell SUCCESS in Your Life, a
popular motivational book that has been published in
several languages worldwide. Peter offers professional
keynote speeches, seminars, and workshops to corporations,
associations, and nonprofit groups.
For more details about his book and speeches, visit
http://www.PeterColwell.com.
To be removed from this list: Send a blank e-mail to
peter@petercolwell.com with "Unsubscribe" in the subject
line. To subscribe, visit www.petercolwell.com.
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