Dealing with Setbacks

Achieving your goals won’t always be easy. Sometimes you will have to deal with setbacks, but with a positive attitude you will move forward just as inventor Thomas Edison did when his laboratory in New Jersey burned down in 1914. He lost over two million dollars worth of equipment and research. The next day, the inventor toured the site and poked through the ashes. “There is great value in disaster,” he said. “All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

Edison could easily have closed his doors forever, but he chose to take a positive view of an otherwise disastrous situation. He didn’t lose site of his goals and neither should you. No matter what, remain optimistic and undeterred. Keep moving forward. To do this, the Taoists recommend that you envision yourself as water. Unlike stone, water does not crack or become stuck when it confronts obstacles. It flows around or over all obstacles, or eventually erodes even the toughest barriers.

Excerpt from 'LifeManual' by Peter H. Thomas. www.lifemanual.com. Copyright 2005, 2006. All rights reserved.

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