It ain’t my day — and it never is
“This ain’t my day.”
I’m going to step out on a limb and guess you’ve heard that statement before.
You may have even uttered it a time or two yourself.
Maybe this morning.
I may shock you with what I’m about to say, but stay with me on this.
Ready?
You are correct.
It ISN’T your day.
It never is.
No matter how hard you try to make it that way.
“Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.” — Chuck Swindoll
“This ain’t my day.”
You are so right.
You didn’t shut down the state just one day before your favorite singer was supposed to perform in Pittsburgh. The governor did.
You didn’t close the doors 10 minutes early at the Dry-Cleaners the afternoon you absolutely HAD to pick up your suit. The owner did.
You aren’t the guy driving 35 in a 55 mph zone on a two-lane road. He’s in front of you. Wearing a smirk.
You aren’t the woman screaming and yelling at you for a mistake you made. She’s on the other end of the line.
You are so right.
It ISN’T your day.
It never is.
No matter how hard you try to make it that way.
“If you insist on the prison of victimhood, realize this: you're far more a prisoner of your choices than your circumstances.” — Dean O’Bryan
“This ain’t my day.”
You are spot on.
You didn’t wave yourself over and ask, “Got a minute?” Which then turned into an hour. She did.
You didn’t call your own smartphone six times yesterday afternoon with the message, “Please help! We’ve got major issues!” He did.
You don’t oversee the grocery store and staff only two checkout lines — even though there are six lanes. The manager does.
You didn’t call and say it would cost you another day without a car — and another $300 out of your pocket. The dealership did.
You are spot on.
It ISN’T your day.
It never is.
No matter how hard you try to make it that way.
"Deal with the world the way it is, not the way you wish it was." — John Chambers
As a teacher of young basketball players, I always pose a question when I hear them whining over an official’s call:
“Did the referee call it a foul?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Then it’s a foul. Get back into your stance and make a stop.”
It works the same if a player believes he got hammered on a drive to the hoop — yet the referee doesn’t blow the whistle.
“Did the referee call a foul?”
“Uh, no.”
“Then it wasn’t a foul. Get back down the court and play defense.”
Now, that doesn’t mean I agree or disagree with the official.
It just means I try to see things as they are — not as I WANT them to be — and move on accordingly.
That’s the only positive response for a player, a coach or any of us to have.
Everything else is simply a negative reaction.
And as we’ve seen over and over through the years, those don’t go so well.
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33
“This ain’t my day.”
The next time I hear you say that, you’ll get no argument from me.
I feel your pain.
It ain’t my day either.
That’s the bad news for both of us.
But here’s some good news: The way we bounce back from our circumstances IS OURS to own. And we always have two choices — react or respond.
When my doctor says, “Tim, I see you’re responding to the medication,” that’s always a good thing.
When he says, “Tim, I see you’re reacting to the medication,” that’s not so good.
It never is.
And it never will be.
No matter how hard I try to make it that way.
(Tim Kolodziej is the creator of EnspireU.com and author of this piece. You can email him here.)