One of the toughest concepts we have to truly internalize is that all that happens to us, the good as well as what we consider to be the bad, comes about as a result of our power to choose.
When we are about to be evicted, when the doctor tells us we have a disease, when what we consider to be a tragedy befalls us, we have to remember that these things came about as a result of choices we have made.
The ultimate power here is that we can make different choices and change our circumstances. Choice is our strongest tool. Choice allows us to have truly great lives. We can choose to have anything we want in our lives whether that is perfect health, great finances or the love of our life.
Understanding our power to choose allows us to make choices that bring about the results that we actually desire and gives us opportunities we may have never imagined. We are the ones who create our lives. Our attitudes put us in a position to learn from the things we wished we would not have brought into our lives. Learning how to think and therefore feel differently is the essential ingredient for a healthy, happy life.
When we feel negative or are filled with fear, we create negative energy, chemicals, etc. in our body and pollute it so that poor health is a result. We do the same when we feel as if we are unlovable. Feel unlovable and you will bring people into your life that treat you badly. Feel like a failure and you will create a life of disappointments and loss.
The power of feeling positive, of feeling like you can do or have anything brings about results beyond your wildest imagination. When you believe that your feelings are something you cannot control, you become a victim of your circumstances and justified in feeling bad. We become victims of our emotions and create lives in which we are always a victim.
People who succeed do not necessarily always have perfect lives, however the ones that get beyond their less than satisfactory circumstances do it by learning two things: How they got into the situation and what it is they need to learn to evolve so that they do not repeat the undesired effect. They do not spend hours, days, weeks, months, years feeling sorry for themselves. They do not feel like victims. They do not beat themselves up and repeat the undesired emotions and effects. They learn and move on. They evolve.
Evolution is our ultimate purpose on this planet. It is the ultimate purpose of every living thing on the planet. Sustaining life, creating life evolving circumstances and recognizing these circumstances, events and results is the power of choice. It is the one mandatory element of successful people.
What we feel, we create. Period. Write these words in big letters and attach it to your mirrors, on the ceiling above your bed, on your nightstand, next to your coffee pot.
Feeling bad is a habit. Look at your life and ask yourself what do I do as a habit? Do you always have to have a cup of coffee in the morning? Do you have to exercise after work? Do you feel like you might die if you miss an episode of “Desperate Housewives?” These are habits.
Now look at your emotions. Does your heart sink when your mother calls? Do you feel joy when your mate comes home from work? Does the site of your dog licking his bum make you laugh? You are triggered to feel the things you feel because you have literally trained yourself to feel the way you feel when these circumstances are created.
Choose to feel good instead of annoyed when that dreaded co-worker comes into your office and the co-worker will annoy less and less. Choose to feel joy when you get that eviction notice and talk to your landlord about your situation and you may find that your landlord is willing to work with you. Choose to feel happy when your car does not start and perhaps your mechanic will give you a big discount.
Your perspective is what matters most in changing the habit of feeling bad. Identifying a situation as bad creates bad results. Maybe your car not working causes you to hitch a ride with that annoying co-worker. Maybe you will find that she is not so much annoying as depressed because she feels unloved. Maybe feeling gratitude towards her for giving you a ride will result in a friendship you would never have encountered if your car did not break down. This is a win/win situation for both of you.
Remember you get to choose how you feel. You choose by creating a perspective. Choosing to feel good because you have to ride the bus instead of feeling bad because your car is in need of repair is a choice. In choosing to feel good you will bring about good results. Suddenly, taking the bus is not so bad.