In a world where surface-level positivity often overshadows authentic emotion, developing a truly positive mindset means digging deeper. Real strength doesn’t come from motivational quotes. It comes from facing life’s hardest moments and choosing to keep going. That is what Bobby Steffens offers in his memoir, Such Is Life?.
This is not a self-help book filled with checklists. It’s a lived experience, shaped by loss, love, reflection, and a quiet determination to grow. Bobby’s story doesn’t just teach mindset. It lives it.
The following impressions are drawn from his real-life journey. They’re not abstract theories. They’re rooted in the truth of what it means to hurt, heal, and still move forward with hope.
Starts with Acceptance, Not Denial
Bobby writes about the moment he lost his father. Bobby was flying back home after a visit, unaware that his father had passed while he was in the air. Instead of turning to bitterness, he allowed the reality to settle. He didn’t pretend the loss wasn’t painful, but he made a conscious choice not to let it consume him.
Acceptance isn’t about giving in. It’s about recognizing what we can’t change and deciding how we respond.
Accepts Nature as a Teacher
Throughout the book, nature plays a central role in Bobby’s healing. Whether walking through Oregon’s high desert or standing quietly in the Sonoran, he finds clarity and calm in the rhythms of the natural world.
In nature, things unfold in their own time. There is no rush to fix everything. Bobby learned to observe, breathe, and reconnect with what grounds him.
Feels What You Feel, Then Lets You Move On
Grief. Guilt. Sadness. These emotions surface again and again in Bobby’s story. He never pretends they aren’t there. When his mother passed, when he held the hand of a stranger in her final moments, he felt the weight of those experiences. But he didn’t get stuck.
Feeling deeply and continuing to live are not opposites. In fact, they belong together. Bobby’s story shows that emotional honesty is part of building resilience.
Finds Comfort in the Small and Steady
In the midst of loss and aging, Bobby found comfort in daily rituals. Morning coffee with Berta. Listening to familiar records. Watching the sun rise across quiet hills. These weren’t distractions. They were anchors.
A positive mindset doesn’t mean chasing joy all the time. Sometimes, it means finding peace in small, steady things.
Thinks Forward, Even When It Hurts
After every stumble, Bobby always looked toward what came next. Not because it was easy. Not because it erased what happened. But because life, despite everything, kept offering him the chance to continue.
In his words, it wasn’t about pretending things were fine. It was about saying, ‘There’s still more ahead.’
Lets ‘It’s Okay’ Be an Opening, Not a Conclusion
Bobby says ‘It’s okay’ more than once in the book, not as a way to shut down emotion, but as a way to hold space for peace. He says it to his mother and to Berta in their final moments. He says it to himself. It becomes a release.
These two words don’t mean everything is resolved. They mean you’re making room for calm within the storm, you’re softening the edges of the moment, you’re returning to yourself.
Final Thoughts: Real Positivity Is Earned
Bobby Steffens teaches us that a positive mindset isn’t something you pick up once and hold forever. It’s something you choose, again and again, especially when the world gives you reasons not to. Through his story, we see that strength is quiet, peace is possible, and life still has more to offer, even after loss.
If you’ve been searching for a way to feel steady again, this isn’t a formula. It’s a lived truth. These steps aren’t theoretical. They’ve been walked by someone who knows what it means to fall and still rise.
