I don't know about you, but I would guess at some point in your life you thought you were going to win or achieve something and you didn't. Because you didn't win, you were probably disappointed and maybe even upset over it. For those of you who have children, you know it hurts even more to see your kiddo facing this kind of disappointment.
My oldest daughter, Reagan, was at the State 4H horse show this summer in Abilene. To win overall champion for Western or English riding in the horse show, you must have the highest cumulative point total over many events. Going into the last event for Western riding, Reagan was in the lead by one point. She just needed to lay down a great pattern to win the event and overall Western class.
She was drawn to ride first out of all the riders. Reagan entered the arena, laid down maybe the best pattern she has ever done, but finished at the wrong cone, disqualifying her and giving her a score of zero. That one mistake meant she also didn't win overall Western champion. But, after a few tears, she gathered herself, stayed in the arena and congratulated each girl who finished ahead of her. I could not have been prouder!
It is all about balance in our lives. When something goes wrong, it's important to focus on making the next thing right. At the end of the week, Reagan competed in the English riding classes. She was performing events that she had very little experience in, much less than she had in the Western class.
Despite her inexperience, she ended up winning. I loved seeing her smile ear-to-ear. I was so proud and glad she learned an important life lesson in the process. When she faced hardship, she was a great sport and congratulated all the winning riders. She endured the difficulty she faced and focused on making her next outcome positive.
It's sometimes hard to endure the hardship and focus on the positive. When our patients hear information that they don't want to hear, a diagnosis that is difficult, or an outcome they were not expecting, we can help them overcome this by providing positive experiences and surprising them with extraordinarily compassionate care.
Thanks to each of you!
Talk soon,
Jason