Midlife Inspiration: Are You Standing on the Inside?

Bounce Back or Stay Down!

The Balloon Man
A father took his boy into a toy shop. The boy got away from his dad and found a statue of a man made of balloons. The boy looked at it for a minute, and then he drew back his fist and 
hit the balloon man just as hard as he could. The man fell over, and then popped right back up. 

The confused boy backed off and looked at him again and then hit him again as hard as he could. Again the man fell over, and again he popped right back up. 

The boy’s father walked around the corner and saw his son hit that balloon man. The father asked his son, “Why do you think he comes back up when you hit him and knock him down?” 

The boy thought for a minute and said, “I don’t know, I guess it’s because he’s standing up on the inside. — Unknown

We have a choice as to how we think.  We may feel out of control when life throws us one blow after another, but we can always choose our thoughts.  We may not physically be able to bounce back up every time but when our thoughts have us standing up on the inside, we reflect that on the outside.

Are you standing up on the inside? When another challenge surfaces, and by midlife we’ve had plenty, do you bounce back up or do you stay down, feeling defeated and wallowing in self-pity? It’s your choice!