Is Life just happening to you? Does it feel like you are in a Game and you have no control? Are you allowing your life to just play out all on its own?
In this game we call life, it is very easy to get passive and allow life to just happen, right? When things are going great and we seem to have things all together, possibly even have that “perfect hand” being dealt to us, we feel on top of the world. Life could not be better, yet when we are dealt a hand with challenges or difficulties, that “bad hand” we allow our emotions and challenges to take over and we feel overwhelmed, depressed and frustrated.
In “The Game of Life by Kris Barney”, I talk about a lot of things that we do when we are not really present and focused on where we want to go and how we want to get there. Are you keeping your head in the game and handling your life the way that is best for you no matter what hand you have been dealt? It can be so easy to allow our life to be controlled by the things that are happening, yet it is completely our choice to not step in and take control and do what is required. I remind clients all the time that not taking action is still taking action. You are choosing to allow life to take over.
Many years ago, Kenny Rogers became a famous country singer. One of his biggest hits to put him on the map was called “The Gambler”. In this song it goes into some great detail about a gambler. I am not a gambler and do not suggest that you become one, but I want to just make reference to part of the chorus. It goes like this:
You’ve got to:
Know when to hold ‘em,
Know when to fold ‘em.
Know when to walk away,
Know when to Run!
I feel that we all need to know these points in our lives. ‘Know when to hold em’, make it work and give it all you’ve got. ‘Know when to fold em’, change things up, try new things, break old behaviors and learn new ones. ‘Know when to walk away’ from things that are not serving you to be your best self and ‘know when to run’ from those things that will eventually break you or take you out of being the best version of yourself.
When we refer to life as a game, the hand that you have been dealt refers to your challenges and difficulties, or your successes and accomplishments. Whether your ‘hand’ is good, or bad isn’t the most important part, the most important part is how you ‘play the game’ or how you handle your circumstances. Are you being the best version of yourself? Are you the kind of leader that you, yourself, would want to follow? Are you putting your best foot forward and forging your path with excitement and enthusiasm? Or are you simply dragging through your life, miserable? Remember, how you play is a choice, and you are choosing what’s going on for you right now.
Look around the world, we all experience challenges, trials and hardships. There is no way around them. All of us will be “dealt” our fair share. How you handle them is the question. Are you capable? Are you equipped properly? Are you already experiencing the challenge and is it taking over? I know how that can be. I have lived it! I got to my breaking point and it was not pretty. But I learned how to get through it. I pulled from my strengths and I overcame the difficulties. You can too!
Watch our episode to see if you are “Betting it all”, Playing life with a “Poker Face” or if it is “Time to Fold”. Find out how to play, “The Game of Life by Kris Barney.”