During walkabout today, a young writer stopped me to talk about endings (personally, I like beginnings, but endings it was). It was one of the Muppets after all who noted, “Life is like a movie; write your own ending.” This writer was struggling to bring closure to a story because so much conflict had occurred during the narrative. “How will the day be saved?”

What was really bothering this child was the fact that life works this way. Sometimes a pleasant ending is not always possible. Adversity and conflict are a part of living as we work to achieve personal excellence and success. In life, we all get knocked around some; those who view themselves as victims stay down and those who see themselves as heroes get back up and arm themselves with optimism, courage, and positive actions. When this happens, we have to make the choice to tell ourselves (and the world) a positive story through our words and actions, then work passionately to create a positive outcome. After talking further, this child reminded me of the words I frequently use with others: “Most of our greatest heartaches in life become our greatest blessings in disguise.” As we write our endings to this school year in the coming weeks, here’s hoping we carefully choose the story we want to share with others. Write on…