“It's not what happens to you; it's how you handle it that will determine whether you are happy or miserable.”
A
thought by Zig Ziglar (2003-01-01) from his book, Zig Ziglar's Life Lifters (p. 19). B&H Publishing. Kindle
Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
We have no
control over what happens to us. We don’t. But we do have control over how we handle it.
Zig tells a
story about Roberto de Vincenzo, who was a golfer from Argentina and an experience
he had after he had won a tournament.
Zig says, “After they gave him the check, he spent a great deal of time
in the dressing room. He was in no particular hurry. When he got out to the
parking lot, it was empty except for a young woman. She approached him saying
she didn't have a job, her sick baby was at the point of death, and she didn't
have the money to pay the hospital or the doctors. De Vincenzo signed his
tournament winnings over to the young woman and went on his way. The next week
he was in a country club. One of the PGA officials told him he had been the
victim of a fraud—that the young woman didn't have a baby and was not even
married. De Vincenzo said, ‘You mean there is not a sick baby at all?’ The official
said, ‘That's right.’ De Vincenzo said, ‘You have just given me the best news
I've heard all year long.’”
Zig goes on
to say, “Maturity in attitude is reached when you fully understand what you can
change and what you can't change, and you respond accordingly. De Vincenzo
couldn't… retrieve the money he had signed over to the lying woman. Fussing and
fuming would not change the reality of (the) mistake. He chose to accept what
had happened and move forward.”
Zig then
says, “People with a good heart are exposed most readily in times of stress and
ill fortune. De Vincenzo was more
interested in… the welfare of a baby than he was in claiming to have been
wronged. A heart like his, one that is honest, expects the best and holds no
malice. It is developed over a lifetime. Roberto de Vincenzo at some point
decided he was responsible for his circumstances in life, that he had control
over how he responded to disappointment, and that a good attitude and a
trusting heart offered many more rewards than their counterparts. Make the same
decisions for yourself and relax into a more fulfilling life.”
We have a
choice in how we respond to life. Again,
“It's not what happens to you; it's how you handle it that will determine
whether you are happy or miserable.”
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