Positivity

“As we go through life, there are no sufferings … Only challenges.”

I read an article yesterday that inspired me to write this piece. As I describe all this. Please know I am relating this to illustrate the main point driving this piece. The impact of “positivity” …  at the expense of full accuracy. Some poetic license if you will.

Here’s Deion Sanders. One of the greatest athletes of our time. He played both professional football and baseball and was inducted into the football Hall of Fame in 2011. I remember the time Deion had both a baseball game and football game on the same day. The seasons of both overlapped in the fall. You see the football game was in the afternoon. The baseball game was being played that night. Oops. The football game was in Atlanta. The baseball game was in Cincinnati. A seven-hour drive, if you’re lucky. “No problem” What did Deion do? He leased a helicopter. Played in both games … same day.

Recently, he was diagnosed with a disease that restricted blood flow to his right leg. Blood clots were discovered as well. He had to have two toes amputated from his right foot. Dione is head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. Last Saturday no one expected him to be on the sidelines. The pain following his recent operation was in Deion’s words, “excruciating.” But on Saturday, there he was, wearing just one shoe. Still struggling with the excruciating pain in his foot.

What really struck me? Sanders during his post game interview. He still had the throbbing pain, still hobbling around on one foot. Dion could have easily stayed home, but that’s not him.

Sanders with two toes removed, blood clots under his right knee. Oh, and prior to losing two toes this year? He had his bladder removed because he had a cancerous tumor there.

Under these circumstances most would fold. There would be sadness. “Why me s “I just need to get in bed!” But then there is “positivity.” You could view the dilemma as you choose. It’s a matter of the lens through which you view all this. It’s a matter of what you say to yourself when you go through a very tough time like this. Sanders would not have played two professional sports if he wasn’t a positive thinker… if he wasn’t resilient.

I have said many times that change is a choice … not a matter of capacity. Dion’s attitude, “No problem, just another hurdle.” No suffering. Just the latest challenge.

No one escapes loss, the tough times we face in life. But then there’s positivity when combined with prayer that make a miraculous difference. I wrote this piece primarily for myself. Because the next time I might be inclined to feel sorry for myself or repeat, “Why me” … I need to think of guys like Deion Sanders. Those have taken challenges head on. Understand they’re all part of the deal.

 

 

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