“The best laid schemes of mice and men/Go often askew,” wrote the famous poet Robert Burns.
Life is like that. One minute we experience the greatest happiness; the next we plummet into despair. You’re on the mountaintop, the sun is shining, and everything finally seems to be coming together; then we see that beyond the summit, the mountain goes down, the clouds hide the sun, and everything unravels.
The trick to weathering these storms and skewed plans is attitude. Should a rogue element change you even as it changes your plans? Does it change who you are fundamentally? It doesn’t have to. And why should it? It doesn’t have to determine your happiness. You don’t have to let it control you.
If you have confidence in yourself, you will be unstoppable. No matter what people say about you or what surprises up-end your perception of reality or people or life, if you keep a confident attitude, you will be in control. But the minute you let doubt creep in, you’ve lost.
Take losing weight for example. Will you lose weight if you constantly second-guess your exercise regimen and diet? If you’re unsure of your diet, you won’t lose weight because you’ve already unconsciously told yourself that you cannot and that this particular diet won’t work. Your conscious mind merely follows the unconscious decision.
Whatever happens to disrupt our plans, our greatest obstacle and enemy is ourselves. You won’t accomplish anything through doubt. You will succeed if you believe in yourself. So start believing.