Embracing Tough Times: Finding Joy and Happiness Amid Challenges

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe.

Twenty years ago, I awoke from a life-saving surgery only to find that I was left completely blind.

And since that day, I've learned a lot about life, a lot about living, and a lot about myself.

And here on this podcast, I want to share those insights with you.

Because, friend, if you are still searching for your purpose, still trying to understand why, or still left searching for that next right path to take, well, consider this to be your stepping stone to get you from where you are to where you want to be.

What's going on, and welcome back to Grit Grace and Inspiration.

This is episode number 201.

How are you today, my friend?

Hopefully, you are doing good, looking good, and feeling good.

I am your host, Kevin Lowe, transformation coach, and your host inside of today's episode.

Today, we are exploring the idea of dancing in the rain.

And well, what am I talking about?

Today, I'm more so here to remind you that it's okay for you to smile.

It's okay for you to laugh.

It's okay for you to have fun, even when you're going through hard times in life.

And the truth is, is that it's more than okay.

It's essential for you, for your well-being, for you to be able to get through the hard times in life, being able to let loose, to have some fun, to smile when it doesn't seem like a right time to smile?

Well, that's exactly when you should be smiling.

Because today I am here to help you when you are going through the hard times by reminding you that you don't have to run and grab the umbrella.

Instead, get out there and dance in the rain like nobody's watching.

Did you happen to catch my special 200th episode?

I interviewed none other than my grandmother, Nana.

If you did catch that episode, then you will know that after I became blind back when I was 17 years old, my Nana did everything she could to make me smile, to make me laugh, to help me to forget about the situation that I was faced with.

She helped me to forget that I was blind.

And that is something that I will be forever grateful for.

Nana, you could say, was on a mission to be sure that her grandson had fun.

And if you enjoyed today's episode, if you like what I have to say, well, then you can give the thanks to Nana because she is the one who inspired today's topic based on what she did for me back after I became blind.

It's no doubt that life can throw some crazy curveballs our way.

And in these situations, oftentimes, laughing, smiling doesn't really seem appropriate.

It's being in a doctor's office, or any office for that matter, where everybody seems to be a little bit too quiet.

But I have found in my own situation that in these situations, laughter is truly the best medicine.

Because the fact of the matter is, is that when you're in this situation, like being in a doctor's office, awaiting a really important appointment where you're gonna find out the results of a test.

You're gonna find out about something that you've been worried about.

It's easy to get overwhelmed.

It's easy to get upset.

And you have a tendency to probably pick up the magazine laying there on the table, and you're gonna read about something boring and stupid in that magazine.

Instead, what if you did something crazy?

What if instead you picked up a book that you brought in with you?

You opened your phone and you started reading some jokes, and you started making yourself laugh, started making yourself smile.

Now, I have always been in these situations with a family member, like Nana.

And well, sometimes smiling and laughing and giggling is a little bit easier when done with somebody.

But whether you're by yourself or not, I would encourage you to do something against the norm.

When the room is silent, make some noise.

Have some fun for your own peace of mind.

That's what this is all about, is me giving you tips to help you.

I don't care about anybody else but you right now.

And so if you are in a situation where you are worried, you are anxious, you are fearful, I want you to control what you can control.

And that is your mind.

Take your mind off of what you are worried about and refocus it.

Because those negative feelings, those feelings of anxiety, they do not serve you.

But what does serve you is laughter, is smiling, is being full of joy.

Those are the kind of feelings that do serve you.

And that's what I'm talking about.

Now, here's the one little thing I will warn you about.

If you're in the doctor's office and everybody is silent, if you start laughing, chances are you're gonna get some sideways stares.

Some people might be looking at you like, whoa, what's with the whack job over in the corner of the room?

Or they might be giving you that look like you really need to be quiet.

Well, here's my thing.

That's them.

And so if you need to just ignore them, ignore them.

Because again, we're talking about what is the benefit to you.

But here's the thing.

Think about it.

What if, what if you're not quiet?

What if you don't just whisper a joke to the person sitting next to you, but instead you say it out loud.

And what if the whole office hears it and the whole office finds it funny, and everybody in there starts to laugh?

That's what we're talking about.

That's the impact that this can have, is where it doesn't just affect you, but it affects everybody.

Positively affects everybody.

That's what we're talking about.

That's when this really becomes monumental.

Now, my last thing that I want to say about this is I am not encouraging you to be obnoxious, to be rude in any way, shape, or form.

You know what's appropriate, you know what's right.

So don't be that totally obnoxious, annoying person.

I do not want to have any responsibility for encouraging that type of behavior.

So please, if you are that person, do not tell anybody, oh, well, I heard Kevin talking about it over on his podcast.

No, that is not what Kevin is saying whatsoever.

So just hear me out on that.

And uh, that is the little disclaimer I have for you if you were thinking about getting a little out of control at your next doctor's appointment.

Now, here's the other aspect of this whole scenario, this situation that we're talking about, is that when hard times happen, it's a natural tendency for us to clam up, for us to kind of run and hide, for us to get away from everybody.

For some reason, we feel like we need to just shut out the world.

We need to just go in our bedroom and put the covers over our head and just cry and be there by ourselves.

And yeah, maybe there are moments when that is necessary.

But there are other times when we need to come out of the covers, we need to open the door, and we need to be with people.

We need to be with our circle of friends, our immediate family members, the people who have our back in the good times and the bad.

Sometimes we have to put our guard down.

We have to lean on people.

We have to just realize that they want to be there for us.

And so we need to let them be them.

So we need to let them do just that because we're meant to do this life together, especially when we're going through the hard times.

That's when it's more important than ever to be sure that you are doing this life with people who have your back.

And when you're with those people, I encourage you to not hold back.

I encourage you to share your fears, to express your worries.

Give them the opportunity to be a friend.

It's impossible for us to be a friend to truly help one another if we're not honest with one another, if we're not honest with how we're feeling.

They are your friend.

So open up to them.

They can take it.

I promise.

You may be thinking that you don't want to put the burden on them.

You don't want them to worry.

Well, I always find this funny.

As a man of faith, as a man who believes in the power of prayer, I always say that's ridiculous.

Because if you don't tell me that I can't pray about it, and if I can't pray about it, then God isn't hearing from me or praying and asking him to do something to make a difference.

And so whether it's from a faith aspect or just needing the moral support of friends, open up.

Let a friend be a friend by you being honest with them.

And think of it like this the troubles we're going through, I often compare to the storms of life.

I actually talked about that in a previous episode.

And here's the fact is that if you've ever been through a hurricane before, if you didn't evacuate, then you know that generally you say, hey, let's have a hurricane party.

Well, I don't know if you've ever had a hurricane party by yourself, but that would be pretty lame.

And so just like a hurricane party where you get together with your besties and you ride out the storm together, that's what I'm talking about for you, is to have a hurricane party in the storms of life by getting together with the people who you want to do life with, who you know can weather this storm with you.

And I guess here's the big point of today's episode is that when life sucks and when it feels like everything is falling apart, I'm gonna tell you that there's always something to smile at.

There's always something to laugh about.

There just is.

Now, you might think that's crazy.

You might want to fight me on that.

But well, I'm gonna fight right back because I believe in every instance there's always something to smile about.

Even if you got to get a little bit crazy, if you gotta be a little bit goofy, if you gotta put your guard down and be a little bit silly, there's always something to break the ice, to have you laughing, to have you giggling, smiling, enjoying the moment.

Even if just for a moment, that's all it takes to change your mindset, to help you, even if just for a moment, to forget about what you are facing.

From my own experience, some of the funniest things are when things went wrong, when things happened that went badly.

And at the moment, they are definitely not funny, but when we look back on them, they're pretty darn hysterical.

So remember those memories.

Think of those funny things and make yourself laugh to remind yourself that you know what?

The past hasn't always been easy either.

Sometimes we look at our past and we tend to focus on the good, which I'm not saying is a bad thing, but we tend to skip over that there were hard times back then also.

Have yourself really think back on the obstacles that you face, the challenges that you overcome, and focus on that, that you overcame those challenges as a reminder that you will overcome the challenges that you face today.

And that's really what it's all about is the helping to remind you that you got this, that you can do it, that this season that you are in is not gonna last forever.

That's the ticket.

That the storms of life, they're only temporary.

I promise, I promise that even the worst of storms, they're not forever.

That soon enough, things will get better.

You just gotta give it a little bit of time.

And while you're waiting, try with all your might to find a way to dance in the rain, to enjoy the laughter, to find things to smile about, things to appreciate.

And that will make the storms a little bit easier to handle.

So, my friend, at this moment, I want you to let out a big deep breath.

And I want you to let go of the fear and the anxiety that's holding you back.

I want you to focus on the joy that surrounds you.

I want you to focus on the little things, the things that you ordinarily wouldn't even pay attention to.

Something as simple as the bird singing outside, the sun shining in the sky, a cool breeze, whatever it is, the little things.

Focus on the little things.

Anything that will make you smile, even in the midst of life's most difficult moments.

So get out there and let your laughter echo through the hallways of life.

Smile in the face of adversity, and don't forget, please don't forget, to dance in the rain like nobody is watching.

This has been your host, Kevin Lowe, signing off with a big smile and a whole lot of love.

And with a reminder that you got this, you are able, you are capable, you are more amazing than you give yourself credit for.

And I promise you that you can get through the storms of life.

And just remember that when the storm is raging, to find a way to laugh, to find a way to smile, and if nothing else, just get out there and dance with it.