...so you find yourself walking down a long path of hurt and deep Regret...

So you are walking down that long cold path of hurt and deep regret. What did you do to get there? Where did you go wrong? What could you have done differently given the circumstances? These are questions that are silently asked when you feel hurt or wronged in some way. Well quite frankly, it went wrong when you ignored conventional wisdom and did things that defied common sense. You didn't listen to that gut feeling that you had when you where making bad decisions.

The question you need to ask yourself is not how did you get to this place or what went wrong, but did you learn from your mistakes? If the answer is yes, that's wonderful. Life should be well for you and you are growing as an individual. If the answer is no, you will find yourself repeating the same mistakes over and over again until you do. It's not a pleasant experience and you may not think that you are repeating the same things. However, if you step back and look at past situations and are completely honest with yourself, you will see that you have. It's completely fine to make mistakes in life, but its not okay if you don't learn and grow from them.

The lesson here is that you should always learn something from your mistakes. For instance if you keep finding yourself in painful situations with people, there is obviously something that you are not learning. Honestly, if you are constantly being hurt by people, it's because you allowed it to happen. Face the facts. People can only do to you what you allow them to...

...people can really disappoint You

People can really disappoint you. Sometimes you find yourself in situations where you really want to just hurt someone because they let you down. The thing to learn is that you have to stop putting yourself in situations that allow people to catastrophically disappoint you. It's very easy to find your feelings mangled on the side of the road because someone did or said something stupid that drove you to the point of wanting to cause them physical harm. However, its even easier to control the elements that contribute to making you feel this way in the first place.

For instance, deep down you already know that keeping the company of certain people isn't a good thing, whether you admit to it or not. Instead of ridding yourself of the problem by releasing these cancerous people from your life, you try your hardest to rationalize keeping them in your life. If certain people are a counterproductive force in your life that keeps you from being happy, moving forward, or have become some sort of hindrance in any way, they simply need to be removed. These people are in your life for no apparent reason other than to hold you back in some way, inconvenience you, cause you pain, or embarrassment like a pimple that suddenly rises up on your head right before picture day. The thing we do as rationally irrational people is try to keep people around that don't need to be in our lives. It is not a good thing to do, and more than likely something bad will happen if you keep them around. You will find that for the sake of making yourself a better person, it's best to let unproductive, negative, hindering people leave your life. If you don't, you might find yourself walking down a long path of hurt and deep regret...

...don't hang with Stupid

Don't hang with stupid. Stupid makes you look bad. You already know that Stupid is admittedly just that, and so does everyone else. So why do you keep subjecting yourself to the stupidity of Mr or Ms. Stupid? Is it because you want to fit in? Are you doing it to gain something in the end? Why are you actually hanging with Stupid?

People hang with Stupid all the time for various reasons but one of the most common explanations is personal gain. You never gain anything from using someone. Usually the dumber of the pair will drag you down to his or her level. Even though this is so true, people choose to hang with Stupid all the time thinking they are gaining something, when they are actually losing. Like I said before, Stupid is admittedly stupid and everyone knows that, including you. The thing that makes hanging with Stupid so bad is the fact that you continue to do so despite knowing that this isn't a smart decision, and that Stupid thinks you are dumb for doing so. How do you fix this? Stop hanging with Stupid. If you keep hanging with them, you will find out real quick that people will disapoint you...

...know your worth, and never accept less than that out of Life

Sometimes in life, you have to do things that you don't really want to do, such as take a job that you dislike. It could be something more in depth than that. Sometimes when you sit down and analyze a situation, you realize that some things are just beneath you. It's not that your better than someone else, it's just that you know your self worth. When you know your worth, then you will strive for bigger and better things.

Never forget where you came from and people that may have helped you along the way. Know your self worth. Too many times we compromise out happiness for temporary gains. In the end, it only leaves you angry, and you have wasted your time with whatever endeavor you have embarked upon. Know what your worth and never accept less from life. If you truly know your self worth, you will never be caught hanging with Stupid...

its how you deal with lifes little love taps that makes you a stronger Person

It's how you deal with life's little love taps that can ultimately make or break a person. Life has a funny way of vetting you quickly. Life can sometimes be great, and sometimes life can be pretty cruel. In whatever situation you are experiencing in your life, its how you deal with it that can make or break you. Some experiences are meant for you to grow as a person, and some experiences happen because you did something stupid. When you sit back and look at a situation you where in once it is over, you should be able to reflect and see that you have gained valuable knowledge and experience from what you've gone through.

Never should you be about to look back at a troubling experience and not be able to see the good that came from it. If that is the case, you did not learn anything from the sitation, and you will more than likely repeat your mistakes. It's not meant for you to continually fall into the same patterns in life. Entering into repetitive inane cycles will just make your life miserable and you will become stagnant. If your going through a situation, you should be a stronger, more knowledgeable person when you come out of it. Know your worth, and never accept less that that out of life...

...remain positive, because hope is all that you have Left

Remain positive, even in bad situations, because the hope that things will get better may be all that you have to hold you over. Things will get tough from time to time and things may not always go according to plan. When the ship seemingly starts sinking, its up to you to grab a bucket and start pailing water back overboard. You can't let your ship sink, or in other words, you can't stop bailing water because you have no life preservers.

In life, you have to bail water out of that ship like you have no life preservers. You have to act like there is no back up plan, even if there is one. You are the only person that you can depend on and if you give up on yourself, who is going to be there for you. No one is going to just come swoop down out of the sky and solve all of your problems. Even when things get better in your life there is always something that will come along and pose some sort of problem. Most of the time though, it isnt the problem or situation that makes you a better person, its how you deal with lifes love taps that makes you a stronger person...

...you have come a long Way

...you have come a long way. Its only been a few short months since you seemingly hit naked rock. God is truly a good God, and you have been tremendously blessed. As you sit at your desk in your new office listening to soothing music and reflecting back on the past summer, seems like a distant memory. Yet,it wasn't all that long ago that your troubles seemed insermountable. Before, you were wondering how you were going to pay your bills, and now your out looking for furniture and new clothes. Times have definately changed. Since things have changed for the better, reflect and thank God for the things He has done.

Don't forget where you were a few short weeks ago. Thank and appreciate those people that were with you when times were hard. Pray for those who let you down in your time of need, and most of all, don't be bitter towards them. Everything happens for a reason. The people that seemingly made an about face out of your life when things got tough didn't need to be in your life to begin with, and it took a life altering experience to weed out the bad people from the ones that meant well. Just because people say that they will be there for you doesn't mean that they really will be when you actually turn to them in a time of need.

Knowing the things that you do now and looking back on the past few months should make one thing crystal clear. Having a positive attitude toward life and situations will help you make it though very hard times. Giving up is never an option and if you hold out and remain vigilant, you can be victorious in the end. Remain positive, because sometimes hope is all that you have left...

...there's a silver lining around that dark Cloud

There is a silver lining around that dark cloud, even though things haven't been going quite like you would have hoped them to. You have to keep focus and always remain positive. Capitalize on every opportunity, no matter how small. You never know where it might lead you.

When you step into a new venture, never forget where you came from. When things seem as though they are hard and not looking your way, think about where you came from. Think about the time when you didn't have the job, house, or car to complain about. Things could always be worse, much worse. You have come a long way...

...things don't always happen the way you want them To

Things don't always happen the way you want them to. However, things do happen for a reason. Nothing happens arbitrarily. It's part of the master plan for your life. God ultimately has a plan, a straight path. Its always us that deviate from that planned route. He throws up all kinds of warning signs, like the voice on a GPS, but you just have to make that unnecessary detour. You want a hamburger, a car wash, or a new outfit from the mall. The voice on the GPS is hollering, and you ignore it.

The same thing happens in real life. God throws up all kinds of red flags, but you ignore them. You feel that this is something you want to do and it will just take a minute, or its not far from the planned route. You don't realize that you have traveled down the wrong path until you find yourself lost. Even though you have ventured out into the wrong place, God is much like the GPS and He has a way of escape planned. Even though you don't see it, all you have to do is follow His lead, much like you would the GPS if you were lost.

Eventually, no matter how far into the wilderness you have traveled, you will end up back on the main route. The time it takes to get there depends on how far you trusted in yourself or others and continued to travel in the wrong direction. It could be minutes, hours, days, or even years. In life, you might need a GPS, but regarding your life, make God your GPS. When you do that, you can actually look up and see the silver lining in the dark clouds...

...sometimes, you have to be your own Rock

Sometimes your have to be your own rock because there just isn't any other option. People fall to the wayside. You can't depend on others for your personal strength. Be your own rock. Find ways to uplift and motivate yourself. You can't allow yourself to get to the point of being depressed. It just isn't productive. In the times that you feel your lowest, weakest, or most vulnerable, get motivated. Surround yourself around positive things or people. Whatever you do, don't become idle. As the old saying goes, an idle mind is the devil's workshop.

Once you start really thinking and dwelling on your troubles, they can really depress you. The hard thing to do is to try not to think about how bad your situation might be. Instead, think on the positives. Good things do eventually happen. They just may not happen when you want them to. God hasn't forgotten about you. He is still there. Despite all the hell that you may be experiencing, He is there with you. You are not alone.

Bad things often are allowed to happen in your life to set you up for some thing better. If you never went through anything, how could you appreciate the times in your life when you where prosperous, successful, joyous, and all was well? Things may look bad now, but lots of times your right at the cusp of your blessing and don't realize it. You have to stay the path. Remember, even in staying the path, things don't always happen the way you want them to...