Let's Make A Deal

Let's Make A Deal

By Rhonda Peterson

Surprise!

Did you ever feel like life was a series of choices and you were the only contestant on the game show Let's Make a Deal?

"I'll take what's in the box! No, give me what's behind the curtain. No, no...I've changed my mind. Show me the money!"

Frantically we try to make choices and predict our futures based on little information. Try as we may to save money, something like a long-term illness or disability happens and suddenly we're facing staggering decisions. Try to hang on to our jobs until retirement and we're suddenly up against job restructuring and layoffs.

Life is a menagerie of events and sometimes we have to make hard choices. The power lies in our approach and attitude in living with those difficult choices. Sometimes our choices seem extremely limited and we would rather not deal with them at all; like the tough choices we make when long-term disability strikes. Can we physically manage to live at home or must we decide on an alternative living situation? Investigate your options before making life-altering decisions. Consult with others by contacting your local agencies as well as speaking to others who have gone through your particular challenging experience. Know exactly what's behind the curtain or in the box before choosing it. However, when choices are limited we feel as if our power is also confined.

Living in the moment and choosing to have a positive attitude reveals our individual power too! When we were kids we loved surprises and delighted in the wonderful mysteries that lay ahead. Our first day of school was an exciting time and full of trepidation. We didn't have a choice of whether to go to school or not but we had a choice in our attitude towards the situation.

As we age, it seems we loose the gift of enthusiasm. We fear the unknown and many of us do not like change. But change may be difficult to avoid. Like the weather; life is bound to change. We choose our attitude towards life-altering events in the same fashion as we did when we were younger.

It is not the box, or what is behind the curtain, or even our future that we should fear. For it is in ripping the box open or peering behind the curtain and thoroughly investigating the contents that is our task to accomplish before a decision is reached. Then, it is how we respond to life's events that are so powerfully important.

May you receive all pertinent information prior to making life-altering choices and may your future be blessed with positive attitudes.

The Stroke Network, Inc.

P.O. Box 492 Abingdon, Maryland 21009