This article looks a little bit closer at one of my quote images, and it’s this one…
Life isn’t always rainbows and sequins, so when it is, soak those suckers up!
I was using that shiny card for something and as it passed under the light the colour spectrum came through, and it instantly brought the phrase to mind.
It’s a phrase I use a lot, for various reasons, the most important one concerning people dismissing the whole concept of self improvement and personal development as ‘airy fairy, happy clappy, wishy washy nonsense!’
That’s another phrase I enjoy using, because it makes me smile when it flows off the tongue, but I certainly *don’t* enjoy it when I come across people believing it.
Now, I can see why the ‘happy clappy’ side of things can put people off – the image is of a presenter on stage, shouting wildly at the audience, probably getting them too hug 5 strangers around them.
As someone living in Britain, that kind of thing can still be a turn off, and as it happens I’m not a massive fan of it personally.
I can see how it breaks down some mental barriers and relaxes some people though, (while of course irritating others!)
Then the ‘wishy washy’ dismissal of the field comes with the idea of visualisation and law of attraction. People can view those concepts as something that ‘hippies’ do, spending their time bringing what they want into their lives simple by imagining it!
Hmm…
If that’s the attitude someone has of the field of personal development, it’s not surprising that it’s mentally put away in the ‘airy fairy nonsense’ box in the brain, categorised as not relevant to the day to day necessities of going out to earn a living.
Well, that’s why I say life isn’t always rainbows and sequins.
When a tap floods the bathroom and the ceiling collapses, when a tyre on the car goes flat, when a train or plane is delayed, when someone is horrible to you for no reason – things like that happen in life.
No-one in the self improvement field is saying they don’t! What they *are* saying though, and obviously I’m saying it now, is that although unpleasant things will happen in life, so will the good stuff!
The hardships can be dealt with, and the good stuff can be enjoyed.
Dealing with the hardships can be made easier by the attitude we take into them, and this can be as simple as just accepting that ‘life’ happens – it will not be, and cannot be, perfect all the time.
The good stuff therefore must also be accepted and enjoyed in a similar way, they are two sides of the same coin.
There’s an important point to take further here – the balance can be tipped towards the good stuff. Eliminating all the bad stuff cannot be done, and it’s foolish to try, but a lot of it *can* be eliminated.
If it’s a sudden unexpected nuisance then there might not be much we can do, but if it’s an ongoing, long term annoyance, then it’s possible you can do something about it. What would you prefer instead? What have others done to achieve that alternative? What are YOU going to do about it?
When it comes to earning a living, this can be decades of drudgery for a lot of people, but why? Why does it have to be? There is so much opportunity in the world today, and if you’re able to read this article, that opportunity is all around you right now.
It may involve hard work, in fact you can expect it to be hard work, but that’s par for the course, and dealing with that is part of the attitude shift that might be needed.
I did say there were various reasons why I like my phrase of life not always being rainbows and sequins, and apart from the fact that it conveys a valuable point, I happen to like rainbows and sequins! Both of them lift my spirit when I see them.
So, in my case, the rainbows and sequins can be literal, as was the case with the piece of card, but in your life, what would you consider to be *your* rainbows and sequins?
Do you make enough room in your life to fully enjoy and appreciate them? Do you allow yourself to enjoy them?
The hardships will come along, and the hardships will go, because as the phrase goes, life isn’t always rainbows and sequins, so when it is, soak those suckers up!
Ok, I’d love to hear what you think as ever – do leave a comment!
‘Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
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Hi Gordon,
You’re right. The good and the bad things will happen to every one of us. Just putting away the bad ones can never help. As NLP Coach, I never recommended anybody to feel different that he or she feels in that moment. What I often recommend is relax, go for a walk, rest or at least take a short coffee break if you think that you experience too much hardship. The balance is the key. Working, sleeping, having fun,… We need all of them!