Life is a rich learning environment

Today, I am struck by how many lessons lie in everyday life.

In my last post, I beseeched us to process everything in order to glean the life lessons. When the going is good, I rarely pause to ask myself, "so what can I learn from the fact that things are going well in my life right now?" I know I should but I rarely do this.

Now, when the going is rough, it is even harder to ask where the lesson lies. Especially in the moment. In the here and now when something unexpected, fearful, disappointing, stressful... hits you. Do you ask where the lessons lies? I am learning to do this more and more.

Let me try out a couple of scenarios that I encountered just this morning:

An opportunity I was pursuing does not pan out. I am disappointed. I have a choice. I could either wallow in the "woe is me" and wonder what happened, what I did wrong, why I can't seem to get ahead etc. Or, I could move foward. In order to do this, I must ask myself what I can learn from this closed door. Once I figure out the lesson, I can take action. I can move on.

We have this choice every day. Several times a day.

A person I was really counting on, does not come through for me. I am disappointed. I have a choice. I could wallow in the "woe is me" and wonder what happened, what I did wrong, why people can not seem to live up to my trust etc. Or, I could take it in stride. In order to do this, I don't take it personally. I ask for the lesson. I then remind myself that I can always count on myself. Once I do this, I can take charge and move on.

We all have this choice every day. Several times a day.

Need I go on? So, what I am saying is that remembering that life is a rich learning environment allows me greater choice and effectiveness.