ARE YOU LIVING LIFE OR JUST SURVIVING ???????

There’s more to living than only surviving. Maybe I’m not there, but I’m still trying.
— The Offspring, Staring at the Sun

I recently read a self-help book about challenging yourself in the face of adversity, that argued the importance of reacting positively to unexpected life changes.  This was the second time I read Jon Gordon’s The Shark and the Goldfish, and it really got me thinking.
The book uses a short story to draw a parallel to life’s unexpected changes.  It’s about a goldfish that leads a happy life in his bowl until he’s accidentally swept into the ocean during a trip to the beach.  In the open water where no one feeds him, he’s convinced that he’s done for until a friendly shark teaches him to fend for himself.
The story is incredibly corny, and the first time I read it I dismissed it immediately.  It wasn’t until I needed to read it again for a book review I was asked to write that I began to appreciate its message.
The author states that he’s received considerable criticism about just how short and simple The Shark and the Goldfish is.  According to Gordon, critics believe books “must be long and complicated to be significant.”  Typically, I would agree with that mindset — but the fact that this tiny book has inspired me to write more than one article about it makes me recognize how its success is a result of its succinctness.
The most profound dialogue in the story comes from the shark, in a conversation where he challenges the goldfish’s thinking:

“You know what your problem is?”
“I’m starving and no one will feed me.”
“No, you are waiting to be fed.”

Waiting to be fed.  When the words hit me, I likened myself to the goldfish in the bowl — content with his life as long as he was being fed.  I wondered how many of us simply go through the motions of life without actually living.
Refusing to venture outside of our fishbowl-routine isn’t living, it’s just … surviving.  The fact that we often need something drastic to force us out of the bowl and to quit sleepwalking through our lives is disappointing.
Unexpected things that forever change our lives happen to all of us.
Year 2010 ,I reacted out of necessity.It was the toughest year of my life, and I remember a cycle of emotions where I bounced from being angry, to sad, to worried and back again all the time. Everything was wrong that time .It was a time when I was trying to convince myself that everything was going to be okay.
The positive things that came out of that experience and everything again got right and i eliminated from my life all wrong things. It’s difficult to maintain a positive attitude when the world is shitting on you, but in the face of adversity you manage to find a way.  During these challenging times you recognize how you can’t control the events in your life.  You can, however, choose how you react to them.

The same is true for when you’re living comfortably.  When nothing’s going on outside of your routine, you can choose to stagnate and feel content with the way things are.   You’ll end up waiting until something unexpected forces you to take action.
On the other hand, you can choose to challenge yourself and be progressive by working towards your personal development goals.  Although you may suffer some embarrassment or the occasional blow to your pride when things don’t work out the way you want them to, you’re still trying.  This is the difference between living and surviving, and it’s your choice.
Once you recognize that, you’ll understand that you have more control over your life than ever.