You Are Not Your Circumstances
Within the last year, I’ve really had some long, hard thinks about the differences between circumstances and thoughts.
Circumstances are objective, naked-to-the-eye, empirical facts. Everyone in a courtroom could agree on a certain person, place, thing, or object’s existence; there would be no room for debate. For instance, everyone would agree that the capital of France is Paris and Queen Elizabeth was England’s monarch until yesterday.
Thoughts, however, are our subjective, internal reactions to these facts, and they vary from person to person; for instance, I believe Paris is a beautiful city, and Queen Elizabeth was a decent leader. (You, my dear reader, may have different opinions about these things, and that's okay).
According to one theory, all circumstances are neutral until we have thoughts about them. This theory has really opened up a whole new realm of thoughts for me. In other words, I don’t have to believe the dominant, default connotations that are served up daily by the culture (many of which are overwhelmingly negative and limiting).
I get to choose what I want to think about any given situation.
And so do you.
I bring this up because you may be in circumstances that feel tough. Life can feel overwhelming, stressful, and sometimes outright horrible; sometimes, you wonder - are these circumstances a reflection on me?
But remember: that's just a thought.
Choosing a more empowering thought can motivate you to take the right actions to change the circumstances.
And when you realize that, the whole game changes.
Because you're not a prisoner of your circumstances.
So, how about you?
Got some thoughts or circumstances you want to alter?
Hit me up!