I hope you took time
this week to access your personal heart health. Did you look at your lab
reports and check on YOUR numbers? Though February is Heart Health month, EVERY
month is important for your heart health.
From 26 year old super
star Taylor Swift, to 10 year old Egypt Ufele an up and coming fashion designer,
to 26 year old Super Bowl MVP Von Miller the message is the same! Be
true to yourself, don’t let anyone take away your dreams, and you can change
the negative to the positive!
Isn’t that the essence
of our life’s journey? We have to know who we are as an individual. We have to
be clear about our dreams, goals, passions, and what we want out of life. When
negative things happen, we are in control of not giving up but changing the
negative to a positive.
Taylor Swift used her acceptance
speech at the Grammy’s to issue an empowerment statement: “
What I want to say to all young women is that there are going to be people
along the way who will try to undercut your success, or take credit for your
accomplishments or your fame, but if you just focus on the work and you don’t
let those people side track you some day when you get where you are going you’ll
look around you and you will know it was you and the people who love you who
put you there and that will be the greatest feeling in the world.”
The above comment was
directed to the conflict Taylor has had with Kanye West, but what a powerful
message for all of us to absorb. Swift is also the song writer, singer, and
performer who crossed over from country to the mainstream with tremendous
success but not without its own challenges.
Egypt Ufele, is a 10
year old who was often times bullied for her size. Her story was shared on the
Today Show Wednesday the 17th. The bullying continued repeatedly and
was often because of her body size. There was name calling, and she was even
stabbed with a pencil at one point. Instead of shrinking to the negative, she
found a way to turn what was a negative into a positive. She created her own
line of clothing which includes plus size outfits for children as well as
adults. She is THE ONLY child designer dressing runway
fashion models. “She fought back with her creativity and her grandmother’s
sewing machine. She traded bullying for a business when she launched her own
clothing line.” Her empowering message was, “I turned negative attention into
positive attention.” That is all from a 10 year old!! Amazing.
For those of you who
follow Von Miller the MVP of the Super Bowl and the Bronco outside linebacker, it
appears “on the surface” that this 5th year linebacker and three time
Pro Bowl selection “has it all.” After all, he was a standout at Texas A&M
with 182 tackles (104 solo) and won the Butkus Award which recognizes the
nation’s best linebacker. He was selected in the first round (2nd
overall) in the 2011 NFL draft.
But his path has not
always been a cake walk. Miller was suspended while in college and then again
his second year in the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He
was suspended for six games. Referring to his suspension, Miller stated, “I
made mistakes and my suspension has hurt my team, Bronco fans and myself. I am
especially sorry for the effect of my bad decisions on others.”
But this story is one
of a man who took responsibility for his actions and turned his life around.
After Super Bowl 50, when asked about playing with resilience and
relentlessness he became quite emotional. “I’ve definitely had my struggles,
and it was because of my teammates, my family, Mr. (John) Elway…(it’s) all
these guys that never really quit on me and kept believing in me that got me to
this moment where I am today.” He stated that his message was directed to
Johnny Manziel who has had his own drug/alcohol issues.
What’s your take away
from hearing these three stories? Whether a well-known and celebrated
singer/song writer, an NFL football player and Super Bowl MVP, or a 10 year old
runway fashion designer, they all have experienced road blocks and naysayers. What
they have in common, however, was their desire to change the negative to the
positive and to rise above the negative. They each had a desire to fulfill
their dreams and desires. They each did NOT succumb to the challenges of those
trying to steal their dreams. They did NOT succumb to bullies or drugs/alcohol,
and they NEVER quit moving forward despite the road blocks.
What about you? What
are you willing to do to fulfill your life’s journey of Being the Best YOU that
YOU can Be? Are you taking the negative and turning it into a positive? Are you
allowing the jealousy of a co-worker, friend, or family member, the power
hungry boss, the lazy teammate, the negativity of a spouse to alter your vision
for your life? OR are you like Taylor Swift, Egypt Ufele, or Von Miller who
took control and turned the negative challenges into a positive outcome?
I wish you a week of focusing
on what you need to do to turn the negative in your life into something
positive.
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