So, this week, I have been reminded of a lesson I have learned several times in my life. There is one constant throughout life: change. Change will happen always and most of the time, you have no control over it. Some change is good, some change is bad, some change forces you to become a different person. Well, the lesson I learned is that while circumstances change constantly, we, as individuals, can change also. Did you know that you can change who you are, right now? I don't mean fundamentally. You will always some version of the same person. But you can change your choices, your mood, your outlook or even, how you are perceived. When I have been in a bad mood, I can change that bad mood into a good mood. I can change how I affect people around me. I can affect the outcome of my job. I can affect the relationships I have in my life. And when you get down to it, it all comes down to choice. Changing yourself starts with the choices you make. Do you want to have better relationships with your friends and change yourself to be a better friend? Maybe that change starts with the choice to call them more often. Do you want to change your job and get a promotion? Maybe that change starts with the choice to be more focused when you are at work. Do you want to change your relationship with your children? Maybe that change begins with a choice to play more, gripe less. The point here, is that as aggravating this can be, and as much as we sometimes want to blame our circumstances and problems on others, it is ultimately our job to make choices for ourselves so that we can grow into better people. What are you going to do to change your life today?
Due to my recent proactivity with my credit and paying off debt, I decided to give the hospital a call where I was admitted about a month ago and ask about my bill. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss it in the mail and I wanted to get an idea of what I'd be paying for my stay. I get on the phone with the billing department and the woman is just as nice as can be, really. She was surprised I'd even called her, considering I didn't even have a bill yet. She told me she'd sent the bill over to my insurance to be approved and paid but they hadn't heard back yet. "Just out of curiosity," I asked, knowing I would be responsible for 20% of the final bill, "how much was it?" What I heard next shocked me. "$61,000" she said. I said, "$61,000? I was only in the hospital for a night and only on anti-biotics, you can't be serious! My daughter cost me less than a third of that to give birth to and I was in the hospital two nights!...
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