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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Life is...

A friend of mine posted this picture on Facebook this morning: 

Let's all just take a second and think about this....

So often, people refuse to take responsibility for their own lives. Sometimes this comes in the form of blaming others for your mistakes. Sometimes, and perhaps even more often, it comes in the form of simply not appreciating the great power we have over ourselves. 

Can we control the way other people treat us? 
Can we control whether or not we become victims of crime or other mistreatment?
Can we control the way people speak to us? 
Can we really control anything at all, aside from our own thoughts and behavior?

More often than not, the answer to those questions is "no". I can't control any of those things. And sometimes that really sucks, because let's be honest, people can be really awful, and to be on the receiving end of any of that is just plain crappy. 

But what I CAN control - and here's the best part - is how that treatment affects me. I can let it ruin me, or I can let it make me. I don't have to break under the pressure of the way other people behave. I have the freedom to stand strong, to turn the frustration of being mistreated into something awesome, just because I want to. 

I am often guilty of underestimating the power of my brain when it comes to this kind of stuff, of underestimating the power of both positive and negative mental processes. But I have discovered that when I am conscious of what I'm thinking about, and I am intentional about being positive, about finding the good in every person and situation, and in ignoring negativity, then I am a happier person, as whole. 

And happy people don't kill their husbands. They just don't. 

I'm sure at some point, everyone has seen or heard the Charles Swindoll quote, "Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it." 

I'm feeling a bit convicted about that today. It's so easy for me to whine and complain, to focus on the negative - why is this happening to me, why doesn't anything ever go as planned, why me, why me, why me - instead of setting my sights on the positive things, and intentionally turning crappy situations into good ones because of how I react to them. 

So I am making a commitment: I will be intentional in my thought processes. I will purposefully choose to be positive, to let my thoughts make my life something incredible. I will be thankful for the gift I have been given, the gift of being able to breathe, love, think, dream, create, write, read, get older, and just LIVE. 

Who's with me?

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8 comments:

  1. I love this! Being intentional in thoughts and actions is so important- and something that I reaaaaaally need to practice. Thanks for the reminder :)

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  2. I'm guilty of thinking and reacting negatively too. Somehow it's just easier to see things in the negative but it really shouldn't be that way!

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  3. I am with you! It works, I've been doing it for about 2 months now and I love it. It all started after I read chapter 1 of the Happiness Project, I couldn't believe then and can't believe now you can choose to be happy. I had no idea!

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  4. This is just what I needed. I've been such a negative nelly this week. Now I'll be working on intentional positive thoughts

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  5. This post was exactly what I needed to hear today! Thank you so much for sharing. I am going to try and be more positive and intentional about my life! :)

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  6. Hey girly! I just realized I wasn't following you....how the heck did that happen!?!? Also, yay for positivity :)

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  7. I love this! I've always struggled with being paranoid about my thoughts and such. I need to stop letting those thoughts control me! Easier said than done though, that's for sure. Love the quotes you used!

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  8. This is SO true. WE are in charge of how week feel, but it's so easy to blame things on other people. Love the Legally Blonde quote :)

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