How to Stay Positive in the Face of Adversity #Therapy Thursday

How to Stay Positive in the Face of Adversity

 

My therapist is always so surprised that I could be so stressed since I always come  to my sessions sounding so positive and happy. She was also surprised that I consider myself an Introvert.  Why is that?  I have no idea I told her but it may just be me. I do consider myself a positive person for the most part. That doesn’t mean  bad things don’t happen to me or I have had to deal with traumatic occurrences in my life or people aren’t mean to me or I don’t ever get depressed. I don’t think any of us are immune to feeling blue and just curling up on the sofa eating out our way of out depressing moments (yikes! how much Haagen Daz can one person eat in a sitting?)  I know I’m not immune!!

That all said, I do believe in all these often repeated cliches.

“Things happen for a reason”

“When one door closes, another door opens.”

“When life hands you lemons, you have to make lemonade”

If I look back on my life at all the sad, tragic or missteps in my life, something always good came from it, pushed me to reassess my life’s path or propelled me to do something I wouldn’t have done otherwise. So here is a list of all those memorable moments in my life. And  I am sure there are more to come.

Teach English in Japan

 

When my mother died in a car accident, my sister and I decided, we would apply to the JET programme so we could teach English  to Japanese students in Japan.  This was such an opportunity to connect with mom’s siblings who we hadn’t seen since we were kids and meet cousins we had only seen pictures.  And best of all, we got see our obachan (our grandmother) before she died. Would we have made the trek to Japan otherwise maybe? But would we have chosen to live there for a year  in my case and three years for my sister connecting with our family and reconnect with part of our cultural heritage. Most like not. By working in Japan, we were able to afford to live there and be with family for more than just a couple of weeks. And because we lived there, we were able to travel around Japan during the school breaks and really get to know my mom’s culture.

Live in Florence and Learn Italian

One experience I wasn’t able to take advantage in college was live and study abroad. Well,I got my chance after my year in Japan. Now, if I hadn’t worked in Japan making a great deal of my money untaxed (did you know that for US citizens, the government does not tax you, if you make $95,100 or less!) and  if  were my living expenses weren’t  so low living in a small Japanese town of 800 people, I could not haven’t saved  enough money to live in Florence, Italy for 6 months. There is nothing more rewarding or carefree than being able enjoying learning the Italian language, eat great food and just live life in one of the most beautiful cities in the world with no responsibilities.

Taking Care of My Dad

I finally came home after 2 years living abroad to take care of my dad who was having health problems. Life takes funny turns, imagine having to take care of a parent as an adult which so many of us have to deal with as they get older. That gap year, gave me the chance to take part time jobs, study for the GMAT,  apply to business schools and spend time with my dad. This time with my dad offered me the chance to have real conversations with him as an adult.  I treasure the time we spent together.

Going To Business School and Meeting Lifelong Friends

I think about my going to business school and where I ended up. If I had gone to my first choice, my life would have obviously turned out differently.  If I had not gone to business school in Arizona, I would have never met my daughter’s, Godmothers (yes, she has two) nor would I have ever met other lifelong friends I still remain in touch with today.

 

Becoming a Mom

When I was in my 20’s, I expect to be a single mom. I am sure I am like most women, I thought I would be married, living in the suburbs raising my 2.2 children. Well, I guess that is not what God intended for me. But I did know that  I wanted to be a mom. After making the decision to adopt a single woman and enduring two long years of waiting and depressing news that I was chosen by the birth mom,  I received the call that would change my life forever. 

From from the moment I found out I was going to be a mother, to the day I saw my little 14 day old daughter to every day since then, it was so obvious that my becoming a mom through adoption was my fate.

Becoming  a Lifestyle Blogger 

 

 

 

Everyone  always asks how I became a blogger. Two reasons and it wasn’t for the “free stuff” (because I didn’t even know what I was doing when I started). I got laid off during the worst financial crisis in the US and if you recall the job market was really bad. As a marketing professional, I thought why not start a blog and write about my life raising my daughter plus really understand social media.

Who knew that fateful day when I hit post that I would be able be offered so many amazing opportunities. I won’t lie there have been so many once in a life moments but I like to think that I have met so amazing men and women bloggers that I can call my friends.

Meeting Friends for Life

Meeting Mitch was more because our kids went to the same elementary school. But then he found out I had a blog and kept asking me for advice. He refers to me as his blog mentor which I laugh since the mentee has surpassed the mentor. That all said, we have become great friends whose family travel together.

 

This collage by no means represents the many bloggers I call friends who are some of the most supportive people I know.

First row – Barb Rock (Rural Mom);  Onica Cupido (Mommy Factor) and Divina Rodriguez (Dancing Hotdogs)

Second Row:Kerri Gristina (Raising Three Savvy Ladies); Maria Adcock (Bicultural Mama); Denise Wei-Vital (Boyz Rule Our World); Jen Rabulan -Bertram (Next Kid Thing) and Mitch Chaitin (Gay NYC Dad.)

Third Row: Vera Sweeney (Lady and the Blog), Audrey McClelland (Mom Generations)

 

 

The man below who shall remain nameless is responsible for inviting me to all the Disney Press Events. Every time I see him, he serves as a reminder about being passionate about what you do. He wanted to work for Disney. He worked hard towards obtaining that goal.  And now, he has a career and job that he obviously loves and  he does it brilliantly.

 

Would love to hear how you overcame adversity and turned it into a positive experience!