You Must Choose for Yourself

When Margaret Thatcher was a young girl, she read a poem by Ella Wilcox that changed her life.

The poem read: “One ship drives East, and another drives West, By the self-same gale that blows; ’Tis the set of the sail, and not the gale, That determines the way she goes.”

The sun shines and the rain beats on all of us. You may not get to choose your external circumstances initially. The wind blows regardless of your preference. However, you get to decide what you do with that wind. You get to decide how you will respond to the difficulties in your life.

You get to set your own sail. Ships don’t sail with ease. There are crushing waves and storms to beat through.

Where will you end up? Who will you be? Which way is your sail facing?

Are you avoiding the hard waves?

Are you seeking an easy path?

How heavy is the load you’re carrying?

Is your load sufficient enough to provide the traction you need to move forward?

Good timber does not grow with ease. Neither do you.

Pressure is required to make diamonds. Scorching fire is required to purify gold.

All beautiful things come at a price.

If you aren’t willing to pay the price, but would rather the easy road, you will never know what you missed out on. You will never know love, and thus, you will never know peace.

The satisfaction of overcoming challenges and obstacles is sublimely greater than any momentary pleasure.

You are more powerful than you know. Don’t fear big mountains to climb. You are a climber. You were born to overcome. Your most authentic self is not who you presently are, but who you have the potential to become.

You have no clue how incredible you can become.

You won’t know until you get there.

Keep pushing. Keep going.

Your life is beautiful.

The very challenges you face, the risks you take, the art you create, the love you graciously give—this is what transforms you into who you are.