Change

Changes in life can be faced as new problems, or new opportunities, depending on the angle that you see them. One thing is universal: changes will happen, don’t try to fool yourself, they do happen. Of course, as any other rule there are exceptions for this one too – there are those whose lives keep going on and on in the exact way that they want, with absolutely no ups and downs. But the percentage of these individuals is negligible compared to the rest of us. Thus, you got to be open-minded to face changes from all angles, until you can see the opportunity.
Let’s illustrate with a radical example, but an example nonetheless: an average professional cyclist has been living his life by the book. The guy isn’t rich, but has a decent life. He’s ranked around number 200 in the world, not mediocre but not great either. One day, after a rough day biking on the roads, he gets home with a strong pain in his testicules, so he decided to see a doctor, but back in his mind he was sure the problem was just too much pressure down there after sitting on the saddle for over 10h in a row. The doctor, a friendly gentleman in his 60s comes back after few exams with the following dialogue that would change the life of the cyclist forever:
Doctor: “You have cancer in your testicules”
Cyclist: “Hmmm…ok?”
Doctor: “It has spread thru your body”
Cyclist: ”Hmmm…I see…?”
Doctor: ”We have to remove your balls, today”
Cyclist: ”My balls?!”
Doctor: “Yes, but before doing that we have to remove the 2 tumors that have grown in your brain”
Cyclist: silence…
Doctor: “Btw, I’m afraid your insurance won’t cover any of these. I hope you have $200,000 in your bank”
Cyclist: still silence…
Doctor: “Ok, to get started, go to that toilet and put your good stuff here so that you’ll have some chance to conceive a child in the future”
Cyclist: silence…"sure…"
Ok, even today after seeing so many things happen in my life and in the lives of those who surround me, I just can’t imagine someone having such a dialogue out of the blue. The vast majority of human beings would see these events as a death penalty. Somehow (don’t know how) this guy did not see it like that. He survived the cancer, he managed to cycle again, he managed to become professional again, and eventually he became the biggest cyclist in the history of humankind. Oh, and he celebrated that with his two beautiful kids.
Of course, this is very extreme, but still reminds us that things can change in a blink of an eye, but the changes can be a window to a better life – we just need to search for it.
A side note from this philosophy: I can’t stop wondering what this guy was thinking when he entered into that toilet to get a sample of his “good stuff”. Here is a possibility:
Cyclist (on a bed in the hospital, alone): “I’m screwed…”
Hot Nurse (entering the room): “How’s my boy?”
Cyclist: “Very screwed…”
Hot Nurse (taking off her clothes): “Let me help you then!”
Hotter Nurse (entering the room, seeing both on the bed): “What’s going on here?!”
Cyclist: “I’m very screwed…”
Hot Nurse: “He is indeed…”
Hotter Nurse (taking off her clothes): “I’ll show you guys what this really means!”
C’mon, give the guy a break, he had to push the envelope of his imagination!!!! :-)
Peace out, buddies! Here it is me at the University of Illinois, in Urbana, Illinois.