The Lost Decade?

I keep hearing this term. I have no idea where it came from. I think it is probably being pushed on us by someone who wants us all to feel like we are losing a decade of our life. To me it sounds like a phrase coined by a negative type person.

Take a look back at the last 10 years of your life. Look at all of the things that you accomplished and the people you met. New experiences, new friends, new goals. To me, the last 10 years have been wonderful, as I assume the next 10 years will be. So much to see and do. Like a young child, I go forward, ready to catch what life throws at me.

Yep. The stock market is down as is the price of housing. My business is not where it was 3 years ago, and I am not making as much money. But I am still alive. I do not like the way our current government is being run, and I feel that they are killing our economy with their socialistic ideals, but, I am still moving forward every new day. Like you, I have long list of what ails me.

I have a friend who was in Vietnam in '69 and he always says, "any day you wake up breathing is a good day". Sometimes when I am having an off day, I remind myself of that. One of the best parts of life is the struggle. The struggle to make it through, the struggle to survive, the struggle to meet your goals, etc. Much has been written on the struggles of life and how it can make not only your life better, but you a better person. In my opinion, the struggle makes you a stronger person as well. But only if you let it.

There are two choices in front of me, and each one of us. The first option is to call the last 10 years the lost decade and feel that a part of our life was somehow taken from us. The second, and the one that I choose everyday, is to get into the struggle,  fight the good fight, make the trip rather than wait for the destination to come to me, and live one hell of a good life.

I have a buddy who likes this phrase: Life is great, if you don't weaken.