This past week I watched
”
Private Benjamin,
”
a comedy from 1980 featuring Goldie Hawn as Private Judy
Benjamin. In the movie, Hawn portrays a pampered, spoiled rich-girl
who gets lured into the promised-good-life Army by a fast-talking,
slick recruiter after Hawn suffered an unfortunate twist of fate:
her groom dropped dead of a heart attack on their wedding
night.
This past week I watched “Private Benjamin,” a comedy from 1980 featuring Goldie Hawn as Private Judy Benjamin. In the movie, Hawn portrays a pampered, spoiled rich-girl who gets lured into the promised-good-life Army by a fast-talking, slick recruiter after Hawn suffered an unfortunate twist of fate: her groom dropped dead of a heart attack on their wedding night.
As Private Benjamin grapples with her harsh new reality and faces what she reckons primeval living conditions, hilarious scenes unfold. Somehow, reaching deep within, she manages to survive it all: emotional shock, physical work, deprivation of luxuries, and calculated callousness of a cold, superior officer. Benjamin goes on to thrive and excel, landing in a select unit headed by a top brass who imparted this advice: “Life is a series of challenges to be met and mastered.”
When it comes to meeting and mastering challenges, some have an easier time than others. Though we all have hardship in common, some of us adapt to change less painfully, tackle difficult tasks more eagerly and manage to bloom nicely wherever we are planted.
Those who overcome have a steadfast capacity to bounce back from life’s hard knocks. They take control of their minds and rise above problems, realizing that flawed thinking will prevent them from achieving what they want in life. They move forward and make things happen.
Keeping your emotional equilibrium and bouncing back can be daunting at times. How can you bounce back when circumstances are dire?
Get a long-term look at your life, and focus on the prize, on what you want the future to hold. The brilliant author Miguel de Cervantes – in debtor’s prison and so desperately poor he had to use scraps of leather for paper – still managed to write the literary masterpiece, “Don Quixote de la Mancha.” Beethoven’s finest music was written after he had gone deaf. Keep your mind in the game, intensely concentrated on your goal.
Face the enemy – fear. Go through the mental process of worst-case scenario. Write down what the worst looks like for you, then think of every single answer you can muster about getting out of the pit. Don’t run from life’s problems like a scampering mouse, allowing problems to become more powerful than answers. Counteract fear with hope, energy and enthusiasm.
Don’t beat yourself up over past mistakes. In 1986 an outstanding relief pitcher for the California Angels, Donnie Moore, needed one more out to move his team to the World Series. Instead, he gave up a run, and it cost them the championship. A few years later, Moore committed suicide, in part because he was obsessed by that one mistake. Don’t let past errors derail you.
Remember, no matter what has happened – no matter how you’ve been wronged – every pink dawn brings a fresh start for new beginnings. Today brings with it possibilities for good and a chance to make something better happen.
Experiences in life can wear you down, but they’ll only beat you if you let them. You are the one who has to do something about your circumstances. Achieve your maximum potential by reaching inside and tapping into bounce-back ability.
“Circumstances and situations do color life, but you have been given the mind to choose what the color shall be.” – John Homer Miller
