Joseph B. Worthlin shared the following story that has had a huge impact on my life:
“When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted. When we fell down, she expected us to pick ourselves up and get going again. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life:
“Joseph,” she said, “come what may, and love it.”
I have often reflected on that counsel.
I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.” – Joseph Worthlin
That story impacted me in the form of a little stone plaque that sat on my kitchen counter for years with the words “Come What May And Love It”. I looked at those words every time I’d walk in my kitchen for over 15 years. Often I’d see it and not consciously think about what it said, but subconsciously the words stayed with me.
It can be really hard to “come what may and love it” especially when times are tough or difficult things happen or something hurts us. But his mother, in the wisdom she’d gained through her own hardships she’d faced, understood that within every disappointment there is a broadening of perspective, within every heartache is a softening of ones soul, and within each struggle is growth and progression…and that is what we are to love because that is what shapes us into becoming the best version of ourselves…
Much love,
~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )
