When I first saw this book, I thought to myself, “Wow, the title sucks. And the cover is SOOOOOO ugly. Who designed it?”. Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try. It’s one of the many books my Uncle Aaron had given me. (He probably gave me 40-50 books. I’ll slowly pry through them all….)
Anyhow, this was one of the most comforting books I have ever read. It was very empowering. So don’t judge a book by the title or cover!!
My favourite part of the book was when it talked about the importance of developing a Pain-to-Power vocabulary. Basically, the way you use words has a tremendous impact on the quality of your life. For example:
Pain —————————————-> Power
I can’t I won’t
I should I could
It’s not my fault I’m totally responsible
It’s a problem It’s an opportunity
I’m never satisfied I want to learn and grow
Life’s a struggle Life’s an adventure
I hope I know
If only Next time
What will I do? I know I can handle it
It’s terrible It’s a learning experience
“I can’t” implies you have no control over the situation. Whereas, “I won’t” means you were the one making that choice. We should all aim to use more empowering words rather than destructive words. Mindset is key. Most of the time, the situation is what you make of it. Stop drowning yourself in pain and change the way you think.
I really like this line, “No one is immune to pain, and it shouldn’t be denied when it exists. The key is to know that you can lead a productive and meaningful life no matter what the external circumstances are.”
Everyone has problems. Everyone has ups and downs. Sometimes, life can get so bad that you just want to give up. Or maybe, you tried so hard towards something but in the end, it didn’t go anywhere or you “failed”.
Or perhaps, you’re afraid of change. You’re scared of failing. You’d rather be safe than sorry and remain where you are because you can predict/control everything.
But if you want to grow, you have to be brave and do something out of your comfort zone.
To me, failure is a learning experience. It feels awful but it allows me to grow. I learn what works and what doesn’t. I learn more about myself.
To me, failure is necessary. If I never failed at anything, it means I have never attempted to do anything.
You can’t learn to walk unless you fall.
Last of all, this quote really touched me: “I’m not a failure if I don’t make it… I’m a success because I tried.” -Unknown
What are you going to try today?
Related post: Fear
P.S. My friends have been asking me why I don’t blog weekly anymore… sorry guys. I don’t know if I have enough content to keep it up. I’ll try to blog more regularly. I’m actually surprised I managed to blog weekly for over a year. I know a post a week might not seem like a lot, but it’s very hard to come up with topics that I enjoy AND isn’t too repetitive. I enjoy inspiring others but I also need more inspiration first. Haha. Thanks for reading though!!
P.P.S. I actually have one more quote. My friend Kenneth said this, “I don’t care how good you are. If you never take action, you’re at zerooooo. Or maybe even negative!!” So take action!! 😉
Grow with me 
Good message. Thanks for sharing, Grace! 🙂
You’re so fast, Karen!! Thanks for reading! ❤
I saw your Facebook post and since I was on my computer, I read it and you could tell. Sometimes, I read it when I’m on my phone and then I don’t sign in so you don’t know that I read it lol. :p
This is one of the those books I’ve always wanted to read, but haven’t yet. So it’s nice to hear what it’s kinda about. Nice post:)
Thank you!