This is my lame attempt at being motivational and optimistic…which if you really know me is in stark contrast to the way I usually am.

In the past year or so I have had a lot of changes in my life. Graduation, moving, jobs and job opportunities, marriage, death, and all kind of other random things. Lately I have been feeling very depressed at how things have been turning out lately. It seems that no matter how well my intentions are or how sincere and honest I can be things just don’t seem to work out in my best interest. I’m a very giving guy and have lived my life such that I try to give more than I receive.

However, lately I have come to the realization that nice guys (and gals) really do finish last. It’s not like I didn’t already know this. I saw it happening every day to others across the globe and I knew that I would end up in the exact same predicament. But the thing is that I truly had a faith in the goodness of man. That somehow things would turn for the better for people if they just kept trying. Unfortunately, I now believe that that is not the case. Suckers like me who try their best to be law abiding, honest, caring, and giving will ALWAYS finish behind those who lie, cheat, steal, and exploit. I knew this but for such a long time I simply didn’t want to believe it was true. I admit now that I was mistaken.

In a world (our country at least) that continues to prejudge individuals as untrustworthy and by nature evil…only those who truly are will succeed. Why? Because the honest ones among us do not have the audacity, the sly, the…balls to defend our selves in the face of prejudice of character. We live our lives honestly and thus do not have the callous protection derived from a past of constant misdeeds. Thus in this strange irony it is the nice guys who are left under suspicion and culpability. Our motives questioned and our histories disregarded. For unless we can fiend perfection so absolute it can only be brought through lies and deception, then we will always loose.

But wait. I said this was an attempt at optimistic words. So here they are.

Despite our last place finish in the race of life, we alone can claim that we finished the race honestly and completely. We can say that our ambitions were grandiose and our intentions pure. Our hearts filled with love and our minds open. Our words laced with truth and our feelings steady. The liars and cheats can say no such thing. For the moment that they do, they continue their legacy of lies and will never be truly heard. This is their curse. Ours is not a curse but a blessing. No amount of money can buy what we have. It is conceived in the heart, fostered in the mind, and released by our living.

When things in life bring challenges and your intentions, history, and person come into question, never forget that no matter how much they think they know you or how many conclusions they draw, only you will know you. They can never attain the totality of truth that you may want them to. It is their nature to deny you such understanding. The best you can do is to keep your head up and your heart full. Opportunities will come and pass. You will think you deserve to have these opportunities. Indeed you do. But if these opportunities pass you for whatever reason, even if they are given to those cold selfish liars, you must keep moving on. Look to the few great things you do have in your life that give you comfort, inspiration, and motivation. Don’t let the disheveling of your truth by others hinder your potential. For it is a great potential. One that cannot be matched by the fabricators of life.

Finally, know this, that no mater what opportunities and life experiences may pass you by, there will always be another that will overshadow the one past. Always look to the next opportunity and do not linger on the ones lost. Keep your aim high and your self true…and everything will always be in your reach.

Tags: life, motivation