Have You Even Been Doubted?

A dear friend who is an avid reader, recently gifted me with one of her "favorite books." When someone reads as much as she does, you can be sure I was curious to see what makes her top picks list.

Two Old Women is an Alaskan legend of betrayal, courage and survival. The book is a retelling of an old folktale about how during a harsh winter, a tribe abandoned two old women, knowing they would surely die. Filled with resentment and sadness, the women decided that if they were going to die, they would rather die trying to survive.

We have likely all been doubted at least once in our life! For myself, I can clearly remember my father, a second-generation son from an old-world Italian family saying that his daughters "did not need a college education because they were only going to get married and raise children." This hurt, not only because it would impact our hopes and dreams, but also because during this time of women's liberation, this was the last thing we wanted to hear from our own father. Fortunately our mother convinced him that it was necessary, and he came around with one of those years having three college tuitions to pay! How you react to life's setbacks can have a lasting effect. The two old women in the book, while filled with sadness, opted to try to survive, and in the end found happiness. In my situation, I accepted that my father was brought up with different beliefs so when I went off to college, his doubts about the need for women's higher education made me work harder. He ended up being very proud of all of us, and I ended up with the best of both worlds: an awesome husband, two wonderful sons AND a very successful career.

This Week's Focus:

This week, when you have an opportunity to react to people or events in your life, choose whether you want to give negativity or happiness the power in your decision.