In Principle-Based Leadership ©, Jim Anderson writes:
When one bases his life on
principles, 99 percent of his decisions are already made.
My principle is I will take care of my family as best as I
can for as long as I can - no matter what - until the last breath I take... for
Eric among others:
I
have known Eric for 44 years this coming Monday – his birthday. Over that period Eric’s Mom and Dad have
shared some of his most joyous occasions; and some of his most upsetting
events; and in between these highs and lows Eric would tell you that he has
been doing alright. And for Eric, doing
alright shows how amazing he truly is.
You
see, Eric is the strongest person I know.
I’ll give you an example. Close
your eyes and return to the happiest day of your life – feel how you felt
during your most exhilarating moments.
OK, now think back to how you felt on your saddest, darkest, most
depressed day ever. Just set those
mental bookmarks in your mind’s eye.
There is an unbelievably wide and powerful range of human emotion,
yes?
For
most of us, we migrate from our highest highs and our lowest lows slowly; with
long, “recovery” spans of simply feeling average in between. Unfortunately, Eric is different; his mood
swings back and forth, between euphoric highs and debilitating lows in a matter
of minutes - multiple times - every hour!
Now picture your life with his type of mood swings – as if our other
challenges aren’t enough to deal with.
Rapid
Cycling – that’s the technical term for Eric and others who suffer from
Bi-Polar Disorder. And Eric lives every
day with this unwelcome guest. Medical
science is not much help. Bi-Polar
Disorder is an affliction of the brain; and very difficult to properly diagnose
and treat. Trial and error, mostly. That means people with Bi-Polar Disorder
typically wind up dealing with this on their own.
Most
can’t hold down a steady job. Eric can –
and he has consistently been a “go to” person for his company. He is a skilled tradesman; good with
customers; dependable; hard working; shows up no matter what; a positive
attitude that no job is too tough; that’s Eric.
Most people with Bi-Polar Disorder can’t live independently. Eric does – and if you met him, you would
never know the internal turmoil he is living with. He has a pleasant personality; a great smile;
a nice sense of humor; knowledgeable of current events; just like the rest of
us.
But
Eric isn’t really like the rest of us.
Just getting up and facing the day; every day; takes enormous
strength. And he offers no excuses –
never has. Eric has earned success and
experienced failure. No matter; Eric
treats each day anew, the best he possibly can. And when you greet him saying,
“Hi. How you doing?” you will almost
always hear him say, “I’m doing alright”.
If
Eric does alright each and every day even though feeling these uncontrollable
mood swings – should we do any less?
No,
I don’t have Bi-Polar Disorder, but it lives next door. And though I don’t have
it, I can see first-hand the strength Eric has as he lives with it. I’m very proud to say that Eric is my
son. And one day I hope to learn the
source of his amazing strength so I too can be, “doing alright”.
GAP
When
life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and
share the power of a positive perspective.
Thank you, Gary.
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