04-02-2025, 03:35 PM
My father was a wise old hillbilly, whom even today I find myself trying to learn and understand some of the wisdom of his words. He had a motto which seems to sum up what you're trying to say, unless I'm reading it wrong:
"Life is 10% what you make it, 90% how you take it."
An example -- Back when I was working in construction, we were working down at Martinsville Speedway installing guardrail on an emergency rush order before the races started in 2 weeks. Had to guardrail the entire track and then install the security fence behind that... We were working 80+ hour weeks (7 days, 12 to 16 hours a day work), and I had a 2 hour drive to/from home. It was only a two week gig and the pay was phenomenal! (Overtime at 40 hours, Double Overtime after 60, Tripletime after 80...)
I was utterly exhausted though. Driving to/from home on autopilot. Running the interstate at 90+ MPH to shave off even an extra second to sleep...
Had just finished a day of work like that. Drove home... Stepped out of my car... And the moment I slammed my driver's door shut, the tie-rod just ... snapped. Wheel turned completely inside out and the car when "PLUGGHH"!!
My initial thought was, "My god! Wasn't I lucky as hell! Just imagine if that'd been on the interstate at 90 MPH!! I'd be toast and so would forty other people!"
Called my mom up to tell them what happened. Her initial reaction was, "Oh no! That's terrible! What are you going to do now?!"
I saw it in a positive light and was *happy* for it. She just saw it as a negative roadblock, another bill, another issue. To her, she made it sound like the end of the world. "What are you going to do now? How will you get it to the shop? Can you afford it? How will you pay for it?"
Positivity -- I'm alive! It broke in the *best* damn possible point and time it possibly could have! I'm happy, happy, happy Steve!
Negativity -- It broke?! Bills?! Repairs?! How?! What?! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Viewing it positively, it didn't bother me one whit about calling up the garage, having them tow it, fix it... I had plenty of extra cash from the insane work hours. Was too tired to spend it anywhere else. Best time. Best place. Best financial time for it... I took it as an almost "blessed event". It was a positive thing for me.
Compared to my poor mom who viewed it as just a negative in life.
"10% what you make it, 90% how you take it." -- How you feel, accept, deal with things is going to have the greatest impact on how you move on afterwards. You can either dwell on the negative ("Dammit! That's the 4th wrench I've broken today!), give up, throw your tools away and achieve nothing... OR you can laugh it off, accept it, and move on. ("Well, that's the 4th wrench I've broken today. Looks like I need to go get something decent to have to work with from now on!)
One breaks you. (I give up! Can't keep a damn working tool in this house! Screw it! What's the point!)
The other lets you keep moving. (Welp, I'll make payments on these for a few months, but at least I have something reliable to work with now. Now, let's get this done!)
Many things in life you have zero control over. (Such as that tie-rod breaking. Not my choice and was out of my control.) How you take those things and deal with them... *that* has a lot more to do for your well-being and functionality than anything else.
"10% how you make it, 90% how you take it."
"Life is 10% what you make it, 90% how you take it."
An example -- Back when I was working in construction, we were working down at Martinsville Speedway installing guardrail on an emergency rush order before the races started in 2 weeks. Had to guardrail the entire track and then install the security fence behind that... We were working 80+ hour weeks (7 days, 12 to 16 hours a day work), and I had a 2 hour drive to/from home. It was only a two week gig and the pay was phenomenal! (Overtime at 40 hours, Double Overtime after 60, Tripletime after 80...)
I was utterly exhausted though. Driving to/from home on autopilot. Running the interstate at 90+ MPH to shave off even an extra second to sleep...
Had just finished a day of work like that. Drove home... Stepped out of my car... And the moment I slammed my driver's door shut, the tie-rod just ... snapped. Wheel turned completely inside out and the car when "PLUGGHH"!!
My initial thought was, "My god! Wasn't I lucky as hell! Just imagine if that'd been on the interstate at 90 MPH!! I'd be toast and so would forty other people!"
Called my mom up to tell them what happened. Her initial reaction was, "Oh no! That's terrible! What are you going to do now?!"
I saw it in a positive light and was *happy* for it. She just saw it as a negative roadblock, another bill, another issue. To her, she made it sound like the end of the world. "What are you going to do now? How will you get it to the shop? Can you afford it? How will you pay for it?"
Positivity -- I'm alive! It broke in the *best* damn possible point and time it possibly could have! I'm happy, happy, happy Steve!
Negativity -- It broke?! Bills?! Repairs?! How?! What?! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Viewing it positively, it didn't bother me one whit about calling up the garage, having them tow it, fix it... I had plenty of extra cash from the insane work hours. Was too tired to spend it anywhere else. Best time. Best place. Best financial time for it... I took it as an almost "blessed event". It was a positive thing for me.
Compared to my poor mom who viewed it as just a negative in life.
"10% what you make it, 90% how you take it." -- How you feel, accept, deal with things is going to have the greatest impact on how you move on afterwards. You can either dwell on the negative ("Dammit! That's the 4th wrench I've broken today!), give up, throw your tools away and achieve nothing... OR you can laugh it off, accept it, and move on. ("Well, that's the 4th wrench I've broken today. Looks like I need to go get something decent to have to work with from now on!)
One breaks you. (I give up! Can't keep a damn working tool in this house! Screw it! What's the point!)
The other lets you keep moving. (Welp, I'll make payments on these for a few months, but at least I have something reliable to work with now. Now, let's get this done!)
Many things in life you have zero control over. (Such as that tie-rod breaking. Not my choice and was out of my control.) How you take those things and deal with them... *that* has a lot more to do for your well-being and functionality than anything else.
"10% how you make it, 90% how you take it."
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