As the saying goes… “Sh#t Happens!”. No one is special or absolved; it happens to us all. It can vary in amounts and severity, but ultimately it causes a certain amount of discomfort and sometimes pain. 

I don’t want to make light of anyone’s sh#t; some people have some heavy stuff to get through. But I do want to suggest that no matter how large your ‘stuff’, there are some mindset gear-shifts that can help one ‘step-over-it’.

I want to share a story of a family friend; Aaron Fleming, who in the prime of his life suffered from a serious health complaint where his surgeon told him that he would never again be physically active. An upcoming NZ athlete, Aaron clawed his way back from his diagnosis and post-trauma addiction to painkillers and subsequent depression to achieve the following:

• Blake Leader Award recipient
• Senior leadership positions in both Local and Central Government
• Author of motivational book Purpose
• Multiple international Ironman finisher
• New Zealand’s Olympic Games torchbearer
• Previous finalist for Young New Zealander of the Year
• Established successful start-up community environmental initiatives
• Television presenter
• And a presenter and speaker with over ten years’ experience

Having achieved all that, what you’ll also find hard to believe is Aaron’s age – he’s only in his early 30s.

Yes, there were times when Aaron felt there was nothing he could do or become as a result of his illness. But after reaching rock-bottom, he sought help and began to look differently at his future… and the rest is history! 

We all have times when life gets tough, but as concentration camp survivor Vicktor Frankl said within his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”;

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”.

We have a choice between a scarcity or an abundant mindset. Do we look for what is missing; for what is not there? Or do we look for the learnings and the opportunities within? It’s easy to wallow in self-pity and negativity, but to be honest, it only rots you from the inside whilst slowly tainting those around you. An abundant mindset however attracts possibility and positivity. It propels you out of the Sh#t into your future.

So as you go forward this week consider:

• When the Sh#t hits the fan… what are the learnings you can glean from it?
   
• If the same sh#t keeps coming back to you consider… what is the lesson from these repeated patterns that I am yet to learn?

Scarcity or Abundance; it’s your choice.