Good morning! I hope your day is starting off nicely.
As I was waking up this morning, it occurred to me that a year ago I was sitting on the couch recovering from brain surgery. And here I am a genius again! What a difference a year makes. Okay, in all fairness, they only took a small piece and apparently, I wasn’t using that part anyway. It’s been said that we only use 3% of our brain. The rest is just sitting there waiting for something to do.
A few things amazed me about that whole ordeal. First was how quickly you can go from carefree and healthy to a very real danger to your life. Somehow, my brain had worn a hole in the bottom of my skull and spinal fluid was leaking into my inner ear. Which means that part of my brain was exposed to anything that made its way into my ear. So yes, I was the textbook definition of an airhead.
Another thing that amazed me was how quickly I recovered. The surgery itself only took two hours. I spent a night in recovery, a day in ICU, and a day in a regular room. Two days after the surgery I was home. Thirty years ago, I’d have been in the hospital a few weeks. That’s partly due to insurance companies trying to save money, but it’s also because of advances in medical technology.
Finally, it amazes me that I could walk into a hospital of my own free will, put on a gown, lie down on a bed, and let a complete stranger cut a hole in my head. I believe that has to be the epitome of trust, and I’ve ridden in a car with my grandson. Believe me, you don’t fall asleep on that ride.
Sure, I’d met the surgeon once before, but how often do we put our complete faith in people we’ve never even met? We’d like to think they know exactly what they’re doing, but even an airline pilot has checklists and a flight manual to make sure nothing is forgotten. And think of the ground crew who have never flown a plane in their life and are probably getting paid barely above minimum wage.
All through our lives, we place varying levels of trust in people we don’t know. Even a trip to the grocery store involves trust. We see other cars coming our way and trust that they’ll stay in their own lane. We drive through green lights trusting that nobody else will run a red light. And we park our car between two painted lines, confident that whoever parks next to us will do the same.
So, where is that leap of faith when it comes to doing things for ourselves? We see somebody living the life we’d like to enjoy, and think they must be pretty smart. No smarter than us, mind you, but they’ve obviously found some secret to success that we never thought of. Yet, as soon as they say, “It’s simple … let me show you,” our defenses go up. It must be some kind of scam.
Granted, there are people out there who don’t deserve our trust. But, by and large, human beings are pretty honest. And when somebody, especially a friend, offers to help you achieve some of your own dreams, odds are they’re being sincere.
So, all that’s left is your ability to trust the person best able to make these things happen – yourself. And that’s where we usually come up short. We look at an opportunity and think, “Yeah, it may work for some people, but I could never do that.” Yes, you can. I don’t care what it is, if one person on this planet can achieve success at anything, so can you. It’s just a matter of how badly you want it.
You can’t do anything in life without placing a certain amount of trust in others. You flip a switch expecting the light to come on. You turn on a faucet expecting water to flow. But it’s the trust you place in yourself that will allow you to move from where you are to where you want to be. Instead of looking for excuses, look for possibilities. Make it happen. You’re closer than you think.
That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!
© 2019 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
Dave Glardon 