So, sometimes it isn't as bad as you think

I think we can all agree that we feel pity for ourselves.  We think nobody has it worse than us.  Sometimes you feel like your friends are not as supportive, your job is not as fulfilling, your kids are the worst behaved kids on the planet, etc.

You look around and you wonder how some of the people that have succeeded are in the positions they are in.  You know you have tried hard and feel like you are spinning your wheels.

Basically we are feeling like we have it worse than anybody else in the world.

Well...that is total bullshit (except that somebody really has to have it the worst in the world, and if you are that person you can stop reading).

I recently met someone that has a constant smile on their face, is extremely positive and open about the trials and tribulations they have faced in their life prior to putting on their big girl/boy pants and bettering themselves.  Their life was a lot more difficult than my life (I can't speak to your lives).

They battled drug addiction.  I have never been addicted to drugs, and I hope I never am.  I am sure this person went to dark places, but I do not want to talk about that part.  I want to talk about how open they are with their experience and how that has helped me.

I knew them all of about a month or so when the addiction conversation came up.  They told me how they went to inpatient rehabilitation, then outpatient rehabilitation and how they go to meetings just about every day.  They know exactly how many days they have been clean. 

This person is great reminder that even tho we have gone thru shit, are going to go thru more shit, that we can always come out the other side smelling like a rose.  It takes a ton of work, but smelling like a rose sure beats smelling like an outhouse.

They had such a sense of pride when telling me that it really touched me.  If they could kick a habit that had taken control of their life (and continue to kick the habit), why should I worry about...well...almost anything? 

Where is my sense of pride for what I have done?  I have a lot going well for me (really, I do).  I need to embrace what I have accomplished and keep that positive momentum going.

When I start to feel overwhelmed or down, I remind myself that I have done great things in my life.  I also need to think of all the great things I am going to do in my remaining days.

I think sometimes we just need to realize that while not anything is possible (I have given up on my baseball career), most things are.