A good hand may be a promotion at work or getting a scholarship or something along those lines. A bad hand could be a death of someone you knew, not getting the job you were holding out for, or something harder. However, there is a hand I haven't mentioned yet.
An "okay" hand.
An "okay" hand can go one of two ways. You can either fold and give up, or you can make it work and end up on top when the odds could be against you. Every single person will be dealt way more "okay" hands in their life than they will be dealt good or bad hands. It's what they do with all of the "okay" hands that matter.
We are given trials to see how we will react to them, what kind of person they will make us. Sometimes it's just to hard and you have to fold, take a step back, and acquire a new strategy. Most of the time you don't. Being able to see the potential outcome in a difficult situation and devising a plan to get there is one step, making it happen is another. "Where there's a will there's a way" is completely true. You can do it, IF you want to.
Here is one example of an "okay" hand:
At the age of 44 (and not a grey hair on his head) my dad got into a road bike accident that landed him not only in the hospital, but with a broken hip, surgery, 3 screws, and a very long time on crutches. The doctor told him to expect a long recovery, and boy did he expect that. He was worried he would never be able to bike like he did before the accident, that he couldn't keep up with everyone else on the road, and that he could never do his races again, a few of which came up right after the accident. But here's the best part of the story. At the age of 44, after a few very long months on crutches, he ditched them. My dad got on his bike yesterday morning with my sister following and road the slowest 8 miles he has ever ridden. Although it was slow, he did it, and that's the point. It won't be an over night recovery and he knows that, but getting back on that back and riding again was the first step in getting back to where he used to be, even if it's not quite the same as it was before. He's doing it because he wants to. He could have given up and said he was done riding for good, but he didn't, and I know he won't.
At the age of 44 (and not a grey hair on his head) my dad got into a road bike accident that landed him not only in the hospital, but with a broken hip, surgery, 3 screws, and a very long time on crutches. The doctor told him to expect a long recovery, and boy did he expect that. He was worried he would never be able to bike like he did before the accident, that he couldn't keep up with everyone else on the road, and that he could never do his races again, a few of which came up right after the accident. But here's the best part of the story. At the age of 44, after a few very long months on crutches, he ditched them. My dad got on his bike yesterday morning with my sister following and road the slowest 8 miles he has ever ridden. Although it was slow, he did it, and that's the point. It won't be an over night recovery and he knows that, but getting back on that back and riding again was the first step in getting back to where he used to be, even if it's not quite the same as it was before. He's doing it because he wants to. He could have given up and said he was done riding for good, but he didn't, and I know he won't.
Think about the "okay" hand you are playing in your life right at this very moment. Now think of the possible outcomes. What's your next move? Do you want to give up and say you're done, or do you want to keep going like my dad?
Just because you're not where you want to be now, doesn't mean you won't come out on top.
