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YOLO? Maybe Not



We are certainly living in challenging times. It seemed surreal to me that over the last weekend, while we continued to navigate through the ongoing COVID-19 saga, we all paused to remember the events that occurred on 9/11. You couldn’t turn on a radio, watch television or view a website without being deeply moved by the courage, the heroic efforts and the tragic loss of lives on “The Day The World Stopped Turning,” as Alan Jackson so eloquently put it in his song.

It’s easy and all too natural to let events of the past and present weigh heavy on our minds and bring us down. The challenge in doing so is that we let those events control us, rather than us taking control of our own attitude.

In his book, Why Sh*t Happens: The Science of a Really Bad Day, Peter J. Bentley, Ph.D., provides startling research that:

75% of Americans consider every third day to be a bad day.

Read that again and let that sink in. Bentley goes on to suggest that the problem with that type of thinking is that in some ways we create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“The statistics show that people who believe in bad luck will have more accidents on Friday the 13th. Those who have a negative attitude are more likely to endow normal little mishaps with some mystical significance. Some psychologists even suggest that it's a way of subconsciously avoiding responsibility for our actions.”

The common cliché is, YOLO, or you only live once. That great motivational message is designed to get you to take risks, live life to the fullest and enjoy your time here. As I was listening to one of the heroes of 9/11 being interviewed, he said something that caused me to stop and think. Perhaps it will make you think too.

“YOLO is actually wrong. The truth is you only DIE once, but you live every day.”

Powerful words to ponder. We only die once, but we live every day.

Seize the day!

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Source: Jeff Schmidt, RAB