Life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% of how we react to it. 

All the events in our lives have good or bad value, and this value is given exclusively by our minds. Each day we get up and are barraged with activities and choices that determine what we accomplish and experience on that day.  Success? Failure? Disappointment? These are all the ways we choose to perceive a situation. These are the things that are clearly up to us and those that are not. I think we let our minds run away with us and spend too much time focusing on all of the things that we can’t control.  This attention is a reminder to myself and urges you to spend a bit of time today thinking about the thoughts we are entertaining.

What we Control

The things we control are pretty vast, and focusing on these in our daily lives allows us to become more dynamic and successful at what we are trying to accomplish.  Our choices are all our choices: our emotions, judgments, creativity, attitude, perspective, desires, decisions, and determination.

If you spend your thoughts focused on these aspects of your life, you will be proactive, positive, and most likely successful. When you look at an obstacle in your way, you can either sit there and complain about it, retreat and fear you will never get around it. Or focus on the things you can do now because of it.  Look for the action you can take and the path you can go down. How does this thing in your way provide the opportunity for you to become better? You will find it in the actions you take, the thoughts and emotions you focus on, your creativity, attitude, positive or negative, your mindset (growth or fixed), and your perspective on how the world works and how you fit into it.

What You Don’t Control

There are many things you can’t control, and to obsess about these is where we waste a lot of our time.  You can’t control the weather, the economy, general circumstances, other people’s emotions, trends, disasters, decisions of others, thoughts of others, or the past.   All of these things are done without much input from you, and to spend your time obsessing about them is a waste of time.

Do not ignore these things because that would be foolish. Identify everything as it is, as clearly as you can.  Once you have identified something as it is, you can look for opportunities that exist for you to take action. Create a positive emotion about your direction, and find a way to improve because of your situation. Or how creative you can be to overcome whatever circumstance you are facing.  You suddenly get laid off or leave a job.  You can spend time complaining about what happened and feeling sorry for yourself, but that is counterproductive. Look for the growth and positive energy that can come from looking for a new job or going down an original path.

In the End, It Is All Up to YOU

Of course, this is the case. The scary part about the journey we are on is that we are the only ones who make the choices about the things we focus on.  It is easy to say don’t think about this or that, but when life forces you to look at something in a new way, it isn’t easy to get out of your head. Only you can choose to see the positive and make choices that will push you in the right direction.

Avoiding the in-depth overthinking that we become addicted to can be very difficult. You think that what if? or Why did this happen? What are people going to think? All of those are useless thoughts that you can’t control. Action is what you can manage and what you do now will determine your fate and the results of your efforts. Focus on what you can do something about with your actions. 

“You are as amazing as you let yourself be. Let me repeat that. You are as amazing as you let yourself be.”–Elizabeth Alraune

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be”.—Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When we argue for our limitations, we get to keep them.”—–Evelyn Waugh