iconIt Can Always Get Worse



There are always times when we find ourselves in a particularly bad situation. These situations aren’t dependent on who we are, or how we live our lives, or how much money we make – bad things happen to everyone. There is no selection process for who is stricken with a particular malady in life and who is not – tragedy is blind to it’s subject.

When bad things happen it’s always an easy time to start to feel sorry for ourselves, “Why did this happen to me,” “I have the worst luck,” “Things are always going wrong in my life.” I am hopefully not the first to tell you, these things are part of life and what we do in times of trial is what divides those who rise above from those who are beaten down.

This isn’t to say that unreasonably horrible things happen to people for no apparent reason – random acts of violence, disaster, and simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time can’t be controlled. But, if you’re afraid of being mugged, don’t walk alone at night – some of this is self-evident – but there is always a certain amount of chance in life that as inhabitants of this planet we must accept whether we like it or not.

But when bad things happen, or tragedy strikes there is one thing that is always true – It Can Always Get Worse. I know this through personal experience, through the pain of loss and random life events we all have to face at some point. I found myself at one of these junctures telling people around me, “Well, it can’t get any worse than this.” I’ll save you the suspense, it did get worse, a lot worse and as ridiculous as this sounds I wished I had only been afflicted with the original tragedy.

The point of this is when something that is seemly bad happens in your life, when you are being kicked in the teeth and are just praying for it to be over, or you are stricken with something tragic, it’s right to take the time to mourn whatever has befallen you… but it’s not an excuse to stop living. I said earlier in times of trial we are divided into two groups – those who rise above and those who are beaten down. Well, there is a secret to the division between these groups… those who rise above are always, without fail, 100% of the time, in the group of those who are beaten down first.

In order to rise above our current dilema, tragedy, discomfort, life irritation, or misery we must first be faced with that adversity. When I find myself in a tough spot I always hear those words in my head, “It Can Always Get Worse.” This isn’t to say it always does, but it reminds me to keep my wits about me and not sink down and wallow because I never know what’s going to happen next. In a counterintuitive way this is the small gem of gleaming hope I carry with me… and no matter what happens I’m thankful it’s not any worse than it is.

We all have the ability to rise above, to overcome, to make our own waves – it’s the joy of being human. Just as I’m an advocate for remembering there is magic in the ordinary, there is also something to be said for the devastating, extraordinarily difficult times as well.

This entry was posted in dark days, do the right thing, good days, gratitude, living in the moment, ordinary life and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to It Can Always Get Worse

  1. Rob Roxas says:

    My first boss in the sales game always told me “The same fire that melts the butter forges the steel” I never forgot that quote and obviously it is an analogy to dealing with life’s most devastating days not just cold calling which is what my boss was referring to at the time! Its not what happens to you its ultimately how you react to the situation. Everyone gets knocked down in the ring of life. Your only truly defeated when you stop getting back up… Great blog! Thanks.

  2. Russell says:

    Hi Rob! Thanks for the feedback, I like the quote – I think it’s very representative of what I’m talking about. Not matter how many times you are beaten down keep getting back up, you’ll never succeed until you learn to pick yourself up and try again. A common example is Einstein who was working as a patent clerk, even his theory of relativity was flawed prompting him to products the theory of special relativity. He looked at his calculations for years before realizing that one of his previous models had actually produced the nearly perfect answer he was searching for. Without that intestinal fortitude he never would have emerged as one of the greatest thinkers of the 20c.

    Thanks for reading along and for your insight!

    Sincerely.
    The Koffee Philosopher

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