Wait? Life’s Not Fair?

(One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.)

Life, My Little Buttercup, Is Simply Not Fair

Life’s not fair…

Wait a damn minute! Didn’t we already learn this lesson… twice?

Apparently not; or I wouldn’t have to repeat myself.

The earlier lessons of handling life’s unfairness (dust yourself off, etc.) don’t really provide adults with the motivation they need to keep going in the face of this perceived injustice. Yes, the injustice is only perceived, not real. If it were real, there would be no hope. There would be no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

Life is not fair, but it’s a whole lot fairer to those who genuinely try; those who genuinely outwork and outhustle and outthink everyone else. The problem is, the only people I’ve ever witnessed complaining about this perceived injustice are children and lazy adults.

Which one are you?

Not everything that doesn’t go your way is about age, race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, etc. (In fact, we have terrific laws on the books to protect you in your workplace from any true injustice.) So, it’s important to look at any setback as an opportunity to grow as a person and not a victim.

Once you believe that you were passed over for that promotion or didn’t get that job because of something you cannot change (your age, your race, etc.) you’ve lost. You’ve lost the ability to matter to grow to succeed. You are a professional victim and you will forever be defined by that chip on your shoulder and that mistrust in your head and that hatred in your heart.

If you’re ready to never be a victim, then look in the mirror and resolve right now that every time you don’t succeed at something you will agree out loud to the following:
“I will redouble my efforts even though the problem is not mine, it’s theirs. They failed to see the greatness that is me; perhaps because I didn’t hustle or study or work hard enough this time… this time. Watch out for next time!”

Ultimately getting what we deserve usually involves rising to the challenges created by disappointment and intensifying our efforts. That can be a great big shit sandwich to eat, but no one ever succeeded by wallowing in victimhood and self-pity.

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Sh*t Sandwich is available in paperback at Amazon.com and is free on Kindle Unlimited.