It’s normal to have an emotional reaction when you get bad news. When I heard that my brother had an accident while riding his bicycle, I immediately lost my mind. I went to the worst-case scenario. In this instance, it was true.

One of my most favorite human beings, J.J., had died.

What? My healthy 42-year-old brother, who the previous week I had just watched in his softball playoffs, had fallen over dead while riding his bike during his normal 18-mile route.

What the?! How — and why — could that be?

I decided right then and there that this was going to be the worst day of my life. Yep. Now my life was going to suck. My parents would have sad hearts, and we were all screwed. I would cry rivers of tears forever. I couldn’t imagine waterskiing, cooking, eating, drinking, laughing, or joking without him.

Well, luckily there were some whispers of hope popping into my brain waiting to be noticed.

And then someone helped me articulate my intention. (Thank you, Robin!)

What if this was the best thing that ever happened in my life?

Holy moly. Did I dare think that?

What if I could use this experience to live more fully, peacefully, joyously, lightly, and in the moment?

What if I could connect with my brother daily and have his bright perspective at my beck and call anytime I wanted?

What if I could accept this reality and stop resisting it?

What if I could look back at this time and say it was a positive turning point for me?

Man, that possibility began to turn this tragedy into an opportunity. I’m not saying I’ve dropped the sad thoughts. They come fast and furious. But… with some attention to shifting my energy to the possibility here, I’m making some progress.

I’ve always believed that you can change your life when you shift your perspective. It’s a very active process. When it comes to this type of shift, you don’t simply decide that it will happen and then everything falls together.

The shift is reliant upon you refocusing your thoughts many times a day. Sometimes, hundreds. I went through this process with money some years back. I was transitioning from debt and lack into having more than enough money to live.

This work is not for the faint of heart (pun not intended). It takes a lot of energy, but the payoff is worth it.

I’m looking forward to having the best time of my life. How about you?

What are you looking forward to? Declare it below.

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