What I am going to write about has had a huge impact on my life within the last year and has moved me forwards to where I am right now. Being truly happy, playful, balanced and focused in my career and life.
Corrr...just thinking how far I have come in such a short space of time is giving me a huge wave of excitement already! It was all down to one new belief I chose to take on board late last September that is making me smile. The power of choice.
I believe the quality of life all boils down to the choices we make. Now I am not saying this is right or wrong, however I choose to think this way as it really works for me. My career and life is just booming with new opportunities.
Wanna play?
Ok, simply slide out of that overrated comfort zone into unfamiliarity land for a second and choose to think a little differently than usual. Just for today or this evening, focus on the way you are interpreting situations occurring around you. Of course, if you love the results then by all means take this on board for good, I have!
Ready.....
What determines the quality of your life is not what happens to you, it’s not your level of bad luck or hard times, your family, your relationships, your income, your job or your friends. It’s just NOT!
What determines the quality of our life are the meanings we have chosen to add to the events or situations that happen to us. These meanings we have chosen will affect our mood and our actions.
For example imagine you are walking down the road and another person looks you up and down. Hmmmmm..... I’m wondering what meaning you have already decided to choose to add to that event.
You could decide to choose to think that they were checking out your brand new jacket and continue walking along, however this time with an extra spring in your step and your head held high. You may be feeling very chuffed!
or.... you could decide to choose to believe that they were looking at you in disgust, maybe your hair needs a good wash or you really must dye your roots or have a shave. As you walk off this time you may hang your head down and feel your self confidence starting to drop or you may get angry. What were they looking at!!!!This could, if you let it affect the mood of your day.
Think about it for a moment, all that happened was that someone looked at you, right! However you choose to add meaning to that event. It’s the meaning you added to the event that will affect your mood and your behaviour and actions in that specific situation. This will either be a resourceful or unresourceful meaning depending on what you chose.
Think about this for a moment. Think of what is happening in your life right now. Perhaps you’re stressed or feeling overwhelmed or out of control.
What if you were feeling overwhelmed because of how you saw the situation to be? Doesn’t that mean you also have an equal power to choose to see the situation in another way?
The first time I heard this, I took it on board for all of about 10 seconds, then thought to myself there is no way anyone would say that if they knew what was going on in my life right now. I decided that the person telling me this must not understand, thinking like this couldn’t relate to me. I was different! If they only knew how hard things were for me, they would never say that.
Then I started thinking about it again that evening, as I was slumped up next to my husband watching The Great Outdoors! What if it was true? Just for a moment, I imagined what life would be like if I did look at everything with the option of choice. I realised that this would mean that how I was feeling about my life, was entirely up to me. I had the power to choose to change how I felt about it. Only I had the power to change how I related to the issue. Only I could change how I experienced it and acted to it.
I chose to think that I am 100% responsible for all the results I am getting and not getting in my life right now. That I also have a choice on what meaning I add to certain events. Just by adding a different meaning, one that would empower me and move me forward, I now see certain situations in completely different light to what I would have used to. All of a sudden things became manageable; I wasn’t putting excuses in the way and I was moving forward to what I did want. I had the power to choose to move forwards and I could do that right now.
I used to feel a little unfocused; I would continually put some important things off even though I knew it would make me feel so much happier if I did them, I often used excuses and stories to justify why I hadn’t done what I had set out to do.
I now choose to take 100% responsibility for my actions and non actions and add empowering meanings most of the time. I am still learning and it’s not to say I don’t do stress or procrastination at times, however I know I am making a choice and that choice will usually end up with me eating way too many lollies and feeling pretty low afterwards.
Give it a go, ITS YOUR CHOICE! Give yourself the flexibility to choose empowering thoughts and actions today. To feel light, playful, clear and focused. Be motivated, friendly, adventurous and excitable. To hold your head up high, put your shoulders back and smile. Because you can, can you not?
I’d love to know how these learning’s may have impacted your day, and who knows, maybe your life as they have mine.
Thank you for taking the time to read my article, I know on some level this will work for you, and just remember: It’s not the events in your life that make you. It’s the meaning you give these events and the choices you allow yourself to have.
HAVE FUN