LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BE SMALL

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) overcame a lot on his way to becoming a widely read novelist and one of Great Britain’s greatest prime ministers. He once wrote the following: “Life is too short to be small.”

Some people opt to be “small.” They're like weathermen who tell us that tommorrow will be “partly cloudy” but never that it will be “mostly sunny.” Some people's cup is always half empty, never half full. They live in a world of bitterness, negativity, down in the mouth, pessimism and victimhood that transforms them either into bullies, blowhards and braggarts or pathetic, whimpering aggravations to everyone around them. Be careful not to stay in or become any part of this kind of world.

Life is too short for you to let yourself be small. Take the advice of author and public speaker Jim Rohn who says, “Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you.” Better yet, latch on to the fact that what the Apostle Paul said was true for himself can be just as true for you. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13).

Think about this: Life is too short for you to be petty or pessimistic in your thoughts, your talk, the way you treat other people, or in anything you do today. Make a point beginning right now of being as positive and magnanimous as you can be towards as many people and in as many situations as possible. Create your own opportunities for this. Don't let anybody else, because of your smallness, pull your chain, push your buttons, adjust your attitude or decide what your future is going to be five minutes or fifty years from now.

Let others think, talk and behave in little, pinched, pitiful and pathetically pessimistic ways if they want to, but don’t you do it. Not for a minute. Your life really is too short for you to allow it to be small today or ever.