It’s Up to You

When you grab your perfume in the morning and realize it says “Hero,” does that make you feel more confident after you put it on? When someone says “Have a good day,” and you’re not sure if they mean it, do you give them the benefit of the doubt and have a good day regardless? I do, and I’d like to think it makes all the difference.

They say life is what you make it, and since almost everything depends on how we interpret it, that’s absolutely true.

Five days after he got married, a young Levi Stanford almost died in an accidental explosion. The aspiring musician lost his left hand — a devastating blow for someone used to playing both the guitar and the piano. After months of recovery and training with a Captain Hook–like arm, eventually, Levi started making music again.

“Say what you wanna say,” he sings in If You Believe It!, a music video for an original song he filmed in over 60 locations.

If you believe it and you know it’s true
Then take what you can dream for
You will achieve it
As you push on through

Stanford took what many people would have taken as the ultimate downer and turned it into fuel for more, better, and happier. Nowadays, he travels the world when he can, inspires others through his story, and, of course, still makes music.

Don’t let them bring you down, no
When time is fading so fast
Only you can know what’s good for you

Most of us will never have to bounce back from something as traumatic as Levi has experienced — and that’s all the more reason to cherish the little butterflies of positivity that fly into our lives every single day.

The next time you come across an uplifting message, hear some encouragement, or stumble upon an upbeat music video, remember: It’s up to you. You can dismiss it or embrace it. Only you can know what’s good for you — but if you see something that might be good for you if you look at it from the right angle, don’t be afraid to change your point of view.

Grab a copy of Nik’s book, 2-Minute Pep Talks.

2-Minute Pep Talks is a collection of 67 jolts of inspiration for more hope, comfort, and love in any situation. With more than two months of daily inspiration across five categories, 2-Minute Pep Talks will make you feel more comfortable in your own skin, remind you to love yourself enough to ask life for what you truly want, and provide you with the world’s scarcest resource: hope. Whether you’re looking for a pick-me-up, new perspectives, or more fuel to accomplish your dreams — if you’re ready to regain that light, passionate, optimistic feeling we all used to possess as children, this book is for you.

AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON!

—

This post was previously published on Niklas Göke’s blog and is republished on Medium.

Subscribe HERE

***

You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:

White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism

Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box

The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer

What We Talk About When We Talk About Men

—

Photo credit: iStock