Do you carry your own weather or are you constantly triggered by gray clouds on the horizon? Since Covid-19 has shaken our normal sense of comfort, we have all had a dismal forecast of the future. During times of uncertainty, it can become quite easy to feel overwhelmed and react impulsively to emotional situations. When we do this constantly, we develop a negative outlook which can turn into a habit. The result: we form a new normal and a negative life stance.
But just as life can become difficult, it can also become easy because as the saying goes “with hardship goeth ease.” So have faith that there is always light behind the dismally gray clouds and if you adjust your perspective such that you learn to respond to life’s challenges, they will become opportunities to grow, and soon, you’ll see brighter days ahead.
To adjust your perspective, remember that it’s rarely about the situation itself but how you react, or rather, how you respond to it.
Your response to circumstances determines your feelings and your quality of life is determined not by what life brings to you, but by the attitude you have towards life. What happens to you is less significant than what happens within you, accepting that while you don’t control your circumstances, you can control your own thoughts. It’s not your position but your disposition that matters.
If you believe that things external to you, like other people, situations or the weather, are the source of your happiness or unhappiness, life will always happen to you.
You’ll be acted upon, feel powerless and victimized, and constantly be looking for reasons to blame others or justify your knee-jerk reactions. Consequently, you start to wallow in self-pity and lose your influence with others.
But if you learn to recognize your triggers and get better at how you control them, if you believe that you have the freedom to respond, not only will you have more influence in your own life, but you’ll have a positive influence over the lives of others. So, rather than reacting impulsively, choose to carry your own weather. When triggered emotionally, pause, take a deep breath, try to respond with more thought and intent. Believing you always have a choice, that your freedom and power can never be surrendered unless you allow it, enables you to act rather than be acted upon. And when this becomes a habit, you’ll discover that hardship really is followed with ease and that the sun is always behind the dark gray clouds.
Thanks, Mohamed, this piece would do well for those today who seem to have the need to react to the bad weather all around us and to understand that there is no need for the umbrella after all.
Thanks, Mohamed.
My good friend Richard Rosengarten, a wonderful curmudgeon, told me, “There’s no such thing as bad weather. Only inappropriate clothing.”
Have a serene weekend.
Mac
I love this Mac, that really emphasizes that we choose how we respond to anything external!