Win in Life (with the hand you're dealt)

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Episode Transcription

Welcome back to the Road of Life podcast. MacKay and Bennett. What do we got today, MacKay?

Today, we're going to talk about being dealt a bad hand.

Being dealt a bad hand.

We were out for a walk. Yeah, this was a couple weeks ago?

Yeah, a week or, week or so, a week or two ago now, I guess. We were out for a walk and kind of got onto this subject and had like a pretty hearty conversation about it and thought, we should really do a podcast about this. Yeah. So, here we are.

And I, and I think the reason was is like, we find sometimes people, they talk about things that have happened to them in their life that prevent them from doing certain things or prevent them from achieving certain things that they want to achieve in their life.

And I think everyone has things in their life, Sure, in their childhood in their past and their current existence, like everyone's got things.

Yeah for me. It was, I would say, what I would tell myself early on on this journey is that I didn't even know this was a thing. I was never brought up to learn this. My, the mindset I was brought up with was: this is our lot. We're not from money. You just work hard and you go to school, you get good grades and you go get a job. You work hard and you build up, hopefully you get a job that pays you well enough and you get all the benefits and a retirement accounts and all that stuff and you get to retire well.

And that's, that's the whole concept of changing your stars.

Yeah, it didn't exist. It didn't and it was never something that I, so that was my kind of limiting belief about myself is that that was always going to be my lot.

And I think for some people, like they really do get dealt a above average shitty hand in life.

Yeah, and I gotta say, compared to what some people deal with, I did not have, that.

I'm super blessed and super grateful. So blessed. I wasn't dealt a pair of threes. And I wasn't dealt a pair of aces. Like, my hand is somewhere in the middle, and I'm working on You're playing that hand. Playing that hand to the best of my ability.

But some people get dealt a couple of threes in life and...

A couple of threes actually isn't bad a two and a seven is actually the worst hand you don't want like i'm not a poker player you get dealt a pair you're actually doing okay yeah but if you're dealt a two and a seven i think it's i think it's statistically like the worst hand in poker or something and some people are dealt a two and a seven and you know what some people who are dealt the two and a seven beat the hand that was dealt two aces yeah You know, I think a lot of times we wish we were born with two aces.

And yeah, statistically, when you're dealt two aces, you're going to win probably more than you lose. It's, you're not guaranteed either way. . It's what you do with the hand.

Yeah. And so it comes down to managing what's in your control. Yeah, you may have been dealt a shitty hand in life for sure. Yeah, and that sucks it does and feel it, but then evaluate: What parts can I control? Yeah. And so the bad hand could be your health and you may have been dealt a bad hand health wise and you know that really sucks. And so feel it, but also what parts of that are in your control?

Can I eat better? Can I totally change my habits? Can I sleep? Can I drink the water? Can I get out and move? Can I do the things that, yeah, I've, I've been dealt this genetic thing, like no control over. But can I make it better?

Yeah. Or maybe your bad hand is your childhood. Yeah. Maybe you had a

Abusive parents or something.

Totally. And, same as the bad hand in your health, that really sucks and feel that. But then what can you do? Because it wasn't your fault, in either situation, in any situation. It's not your fault that you were dealt a bad hand in your childhood. It's not your fault that you were dealt a bad hand in your health, but it's your responsibility to play the hand you're dealt now.

Yeah. And so what can you do to address the parts that you can address?

And appears at first to be a sad truth, but is actually quite a liberating truth, is that nobody's coming to save you. Which means that it's all on you. Which is super liberating to realize that like it all is within me, yeah I was dealt a deuce and a seven but you know what I'm gonna win this hand. I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna conquer this game and, and that's the mindset. Yeah, it's it's and so Yeah, you were dealt a two and a seven. What can you do with it? Go play the hand you were dealt. It's the excuses, the things that are holding us back, they're only holding US back.

So holding on to it and letting that story tell you that you're not good enough and you can't do certain things. Is only hurting you. And the people that you could serve and help by being you. By you not playing your two and your seven, you're actually withholding from the world your greatness.

And what you could, what you could give and provide to others in the world.

You might create a road map by how you handle it for how someone else could handle it in the future. You had a shitty, abusive childhood. That sucks, but how you choose to deal with that now might help a lot of other people.

Yeah, you just built the road map of how to deal with that and you could turn around and hand that road map to somebody else to do the exact same thing.

Or maybe you have a health concern and you manage that through life by your lifestyle and all the things that you did or maybe you became a scientist and cured the damn thing. I don't know, but without breaking free of those excuses and playing that bad hand, you rob yourself, then you rob the world of your greatness.

And so really, I guess what you're saying is, it's not about the hand you're dealt, as much as it is about playing the hand you're dealt. It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish.

Yeah, we're all on this planet and we're all here for a reason and we're all here for whatever length of time whatever length of time we're given And it serves no one to sit on the sidelines and just keep watching the game. You gotta get in the game and play the hand we're dealt.

And the other thing that we talk about a lot is that The universe is always working in your favor, and I think it's sometimes is really hard to see that

When you're dealt such a bad hand.

Yeah, it's really hard to see that sometimes about how could this possibly be working in my favor? How could it possibly be helping me?

I think we overlook the challenges that were given are usually the superpower within us.

Or help us develop it anyway.

Yeah, exactly. They're a hint or a clue to what our superpower is.

And so anyone who's dealing with something tragic, overcoming that, you're gonna find your superpower in that mission. In that mission of, getting over, through, around, whatever that obstacle in your life you were given, that is going to give you the clues to as to what your superpower is and your gift to the world.

And so, and then playing your hand is actually bringing that gift out to the world, delivering that gift to the world,

I think. Yeah. Well, playing your hand I think is first and foremost dealing with the, the issue, the hand, the thing that, that's holding you back. And then, finding that solution, and giving it back to the world and helping others with it.

And so I, I don't know if I've said this already, I think I heard it from Brian Bogert first: It's not your fault, but it's your responsibility now. And so, what happened to you, whether it's your health, whether it's your childhood, whether it's whatever it is in your life, it's not your fault. And it probably sucks.

Yeah. But it's now your responsibility to deal with it and find the good in it, because it's there somewhere.

And I think, one inspiring thought for someone who's struggling with a bad hand is that, to your point, the universe doesn't make mistakes, and the reason you're handed that situation is because you're capable of overcoming it.

If you can optimize and maximize the things that are within your control, that's how you overcome it.

Yeah, the reason you were given that hand is because you're capable of playing it. You're capable of winning with that hand. That's why you were given it. It's just figuring out how.

That was good.

You're capable of winning with that hand. That's why you were given it. That's a good one, Bennett. Thanks, MacKay.

Yeah. So go out and win. And if you need any support, we're happy to talk it through with you. So reach out. We're always happy , to serve any way we can and if you got any value or, you know, anyone else who would get value from the episode, by all means, please share it and

Join our Facebook group, Traveling the Road of Life.

We can talk more about it there.

Exactly. And have an amazing day.