The following is a story told on January 30, 2010 by Kimberly Wiefling, Global Business Leadership Consultant, during her seminar on "Creating a Vision for Your Future" in Redwood City, CA:
Once there was a little fish that lived in a fish bowl. The fish soon grew to the size of bowl, but one day someone put his hand into the bowl and grabbed the fish, flinging it into ocean. "Ugh!" The fish lost everything, all its little plastic plants, the security of being fed everyday without having to look for food itself.
What does being flung into an ocean make possible that was not possible before? Just like filing for bankruptcy, being flung into an ocean is not the same as being dead.
Old patterns limit perceptions. When paying too much attention and doing distracting things, a person can miss a gorilla dancing in front of his tv screen. Filing for bankruptcy is not necessarily about the past, but also the future. People might ask how practical or feasible is it to think that bankruptcy could allow for someone's dreams to come true when the press characterizes debtors as failures, but there could be something in what critical people do not know that makes it possible. Look at Donald Trump as someone who obtained a fresh start from bankruptcy. How can people who do not risk shame swim across a pool when they are holding to the side?
When contemplating bankruptcy, go to the future and create the steps backwards to get there. Be willing to risk drowning and be uncomfortable in order to celebrate goals. There are many paths connecting the present to the future. In most negative thinking, none of the statements are facts or situations that can be controlled. As Christopher Reeve, Actor, Director, Activist said: So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
You are not living in eternity. You have only this moment. Many negative thoughts are just interpretations of situations. Wiefling's seminar points out: Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaim - "WOW" - "What a Ride!""
Engage a bankruptcy attorney who will help you throw away states that cannot be changed. There is no need to keep or commit these matters to memory.
