I love quotes.  I love their succinct messages and their pearls of wisdom.  I got the idea for this post series from a fellow blogger, Leah Davidson at RaisingFlowersandSkids.com.  Not only does she post a quote of the week on her website, she selects quotes of the week for her family too, and posts them on her wall so they can see them.  I love that!  So, Leah, thank you for the idea!

This week’s quote is:

“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” ~Lou Holtz

Your attitude, your beliefs–these affect how you live your life.  Everyone has at least one instance in which something “bad” happens (and I put bad in quotes because inevitably it always seems as though something better comes along afterwards), but how you process it and choose how to look at it defines the quality of your life.  Do you hold onto the experience lamenting about how unfair it is?  Do you get angry?  Actually, it is good to feel angry–it’s often justified.  Holding onto anger and prolonging it, however, is not effective for your overall physical and emotional health.

Loss, unfairness, illness–these things happen in life.  It’s unfortunate, but we all have to face difficulties in our lives.  One way to grow from them, is to find the lessons behind the pain.  Have faith that “this too shall pass.”  Know that you are not alone.  You have more control over your destiny than you think.  Take control of your life by first, not denying that “bad” things have happened. You don’t have to define your life by them, but they can shape you to becoming your best self.  It’s also important to feel all of those icky feelings associated with them–don’t stuff them down.  Then find the lessons you were meant to gain from that challenge.

Every challenge is a learning opportunity. ~Nicole Nenninger