Do what you can

By Buddy Shuh – “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Abraham Lincoln

We can’t control everything that happens, even when we want to. Circumstances are sometimes outside of our reign. Economies shift. People pass away. Life happens.
What we do when things aren’t perfect is the arena in which we live, and fight. It’s in this arena that our character is revealed. And formed. And defined.
So if things look bleak now, I am here to encourage you. I’m here to tell you to not get overwhelmed. I’m here to tell you: DO WHAT YOU CAN DO.
It seems obvious. But sometimes we are so preoccupied, and worried, about the things we cannot control, that we neglect to do what we can do. This philosophy helped me in the hard times while filming Biggest Loser.
My time there was completely out of my control. I was told what time to wake up. What to eat. How to exercise. I was not allowed to call or text my family or friends. I was filming for over 5 months in California, so this became very hard to do. I did all this while exercising about 6 hours a day and eating only 1,700 calories.
I decided that while I was there, I would do what I could do. The amount of weight I had to lose was overwhelming. The soreness was incredible. But I didn’t focus on the negative. I decided to do the exercises I could. I would make the nutritional changes that I could.
The secret is this: lots of little changes lead to big changes. So if you have 100 pounds to lose, focus only on today. Do what you can do. If you have a big project you need to do at work…do what you can do. Chip away at it.
If, like many people in Wayne, you think we need to make some positive changes, then do what you can do! Take care of your property because everyone’s property value increases when you do! If you think our city can make better decisions in a certain area, then volunteer in that place!
Join in all the positive things going on in our community! Come down to the farmer’s market on Wednesdays! Sponsor planters! Go on a walk on one of our trails!
So you see, it’s not a question of whether or not there are negative things…the question is what to focus on! See the good, and do what you can do! There’s always more to the story!