Here’s something to think about. Mary Kay Ash’s mascot for her cosmetic company is a bumblebee. She said, “Because of its tiny wings and heavy body, aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly. But the bumblebee doesn’t know that, so it flies anyway.”
And further, Dr. Martin Seligman, director of the University of Pennsylvania‘s Positive Psychology Center says, “Bouncing back from bad times depends on the ‘stories’ you tell yourself.” This aligns with the what the writer of Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
My question then is this. What are you consistently telling yourself about you? You are in control of your feelings and therefore of your choices.
Life presents us with choices every day. We can be weak, or be strong. We can be sad or we can be happy. We can be negative or we can be positive. We can live in the past or we can prepare for the future. We can remain in the consequences of life’s perplexities, or we can bounce back and fast forward like never before.
About Jasmine
Torn and broken, Jasmine began her journey of bouncing-back and fast-forwarding her life and she exceled beyond her wildest dreams. Earlier as a teen, she had mirrored both her mom and older siblings by becoming a teenage mom and later married into an abusive relationship. Even though she experienced some success and purchased a home and drove a luxury car, as she tells her story, Jasmine lost everything. Her life looked hopeless.
What amazed me about Jasmine is she believed there was always something she could do to bounce back. She never gave up hope. What she did was unlearn hopelessness and stopped accepting false limitations.
And so can you.
About You
You know you want more from life. You know you want to design an exceptional life and soar like never before, don’t you? This doesn’t mean you have to be superior. What it does mean is you have to embrace the power that God has already given you. It means remembering the God in you who’s able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all you ask or think. And he is able to do that according to the power that’s within you. (See Ephesians 3:20).
With giving up your learned helplessness, you can become strong enough not to allow yourself to keep being hurt, maligned and taken advantage of. It means you have to stop allowing the world to take over you.
Bounce Back, Fast-Forward
Believe in yourself even when others doubt. How you ask? Because everything is possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23). One of the things I adore about Mary Kay Ash’s philosophy is she coached her colleagues to grow self-esteem through believing in themselves. She knew a great secret: If people can see themselves as the person they hope to become and act “as if” they are that person, soon they will not be acting. They will actually become that person.
Don’t sit around and wait for something to happen. Make things happen. Adopt the attitude of the bumblebee and design an exceptional life bravely and confidently even against all odds. And better yet, do it because of the hardships and hurdles you may face.
You’re the creator of the rest of your life.
Don’t be held captive by what you know. Act confidently, with conviction knowing there are some things you don’t need to know in order to grow.
Please let me know if this article speaks to your heart by commenting below and/or emailing dmurphy@eewmagazine.com.