There’s a club out there I like to call the bitter club. It’s got a lot of members and is growing stronger every day. Their mission? To look around and see what everybody else has that they don’t have, blame everything else for their circumstances, and create a colossal list of excuses why their path to success is blocked by all those other pesky people taking all the opportunities.
In the bitter club we say things like this:
(Conversation in my head)
Look at miss thang over there, strutting her business like she owns the place. Thinks she’s so great because she gets all the good jobs. Thinks she looks so hot swinging her hips like that. She isn’t any better than me. In fact, I’m sure I’m better than her. I should be having those jobs. They belong to me. It’s just because she’s got the exposure – got ‘em right in her pocket. That’s the only reason she’s successful. I would be successful too if I sucked up to everyone the way she does. Good grief, this is high school all over again. I suck. I’m going to go eat chocolate and find someone else who will agree with me that she doesn’t deserve this.
The bitter club is a very popular club that anyone can join – as you long as you carry the bitterness flag. And it’s about the only club that actually thrives in a down economy. I know. I wasn’t just a member, I was their president. Until I realized that while extremely gratifying to have an entire network of people to wallow in my bitterness with, it wasn’t getting me anywhere. I was no closer to reaching my dream than I was before – in fact, I found myself further away. And at the end of the day I didn’t feel better about myself, I felt worse. So I made a decision to quit the bitter club, ditch the excuses, stop looking around, start looking ahead, and commence training.
I decided while everyone else was getting bitter, I would get better. And better. And better. I would create opportunities for myself or die trying. I would be the one in the dark gym after everybody has gone home, practicing my jump shots. I would work and sweat and push myself out of comfort zone – over and over and over. I would laugh in the face of rejection, and no matter how many times I was knocked down, I would get back up again, more determined than ever before. (Insert Rocky theme song here). And no matter how tempting it was to join the bitter club again, I wouldn’t do it. There is no place for me there.
And one day, miss thang, I’ll pass you. Though I have a feeling it won’t matter to me at all because I stopped watching you a long time ago. One day I just might become the featured topic of the bitterness club – who knows, maybe I already am. Doesn’t matter. I’m no longer a member. I just leave the club with one last message as I run past: This too could be you. You deserve it. You can have it. Do you want it bad enough? So what are you waiting for? Stop getting bitter and start getting better. And I’ll see you at the finish line!
Love,
One Of Your Favorite Wacky Dysfunctional Motivational Speakers
Kelly Swanson
Kelly Swanson
Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, motivational speaker, and author of "Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale? How to hang on to humor when life doesn't go the way you planned." She uses hilarious comedy and powerful stories to make people laugh, refuel their passion for who they are and what they do, show them how to see beyond their obstacles, and teach them how to stand up and stick out in life and in business.
