It's Not Them, It's You

It seems like there’s no end to it. I suppose there never will be- it’s been happening for thousands of years.

“What’s wrong with the world?”

“What has gotten into people?”

“Why are things so bad?”

In reality, things are, in many ways, better than they ever have been for people. Generally speaking, you are safer now than at pretty much any point in history. You are less likely to be the victim of abduction or physical violence. Full-blown wars are less frequent.

No, the world is not perfect. Not by a long-shot. And, there are dangers unique to our time: nuclear proliferation, runaway climate change, etc.

Day to day life for most of us, however, is better than ever. Yet, people frequently expound on how terrible the world is becoming. Which begs the question: Why?

Are these people living in a different reality?
The simple answer: Yes, they are.

We all are. Our realities are constantly being created and recreated. We each have our own personal lens through which we view the world. Our view is shaped by all manner of things:

• Our personal beliefs
• Our expectations
• Our mental and physical well-being
• The books we read
• The movies we watch
• Our spiritual and religious beliefs
• The news we take in
• Social media

Truly, the list goes on. Everything we experience each day, and everything we have experienced in the past shapes our experience of the world.

This is why some people who go through the same experience as you can see all the awful things about it, while you see everything good that came of it. Same experience, different realities.

Perception is reality.

The good news is: this means that it’s within your power to change things. You have an opportunity to change your perspective, to see life in a whole new way! You can begin life anew simply by choosing to have a new perspective.

That’s a lot of power. And it’s all in your hands

What a wonderful thing to be able to create a whole life of your choosing. Things beyond your choice come at you, but you get to do with them what you will.

So, how can you use this to your advantage?

Change your mind, change your life. That may be over-simplified, but it’s also not wrong.

People get so caught up in their daily lives, anticipating the next problem coming their way, that they neglect to turn inward and think about themselves and the power they have over their lives.

Even if you can’t directly control the situation you’re in, you can control what you do with it. Do you wallow in a negative situation, and let it confirm to you how unfair and cruel life is? Or, do you find a way to grow stronger because of it, and discover just what you are made of?

Why don’t more people do this?

If anybody can do this, and it’s so powerful, then why doesn’t everybody do this?

Because it isn’t always easy.

IGNORANCE IS BLISS

Even if life is hard, and things aren’t going your way, accepting it is easier than putting in the work to take hold of the personal power you have.

It’s much easier to lay the blame on a society gone wild, or a terrible employer, or a controlling parent or spouse. If your life sucks, at least you aren’t to blame. What could you possibly do? It’s out of your hands.

If you get caught in the current of a shitty situation, it’s easier to go with the flow than to fight and pull yourself out of it.

What can you do?

I hate to say it, but all that advice you see about doing things like:

• Journal
• Meditate
• Find things to be grateful for
• Recite positive affirmations

It gets said because those things do actually work.

Journaling lets you get to know yourself, and gives you an outlet to explore your innermost feelings, safely, honestly.

Meditation connects you with your mind, and gives you control over your own thinking. That’s an incredibly powerful tool that too many people neglect.

Finding things to be grateful for helps shape your experience of the world. Caught in a cycle of negativity? There is something that is good in your life, whether it’s access to clean water and food, or somebody in your life you care about (human, animal, or plant), the fact you woke up this morning. The more you do this, the more you can find the good things in life, and gradually reshape your perception.

Positive affirmations change the way you perceive yourself and your life. The harder and crappier your life is right now, the more important it is to tell yourself positive things. Maybe nobody else in your life is telling you something good, so take that matter into your own hands. Find some on YouTube, look in a mirror or sit on the couch and stare into space, and repeat what they say.

The key to any of these is to continue to do them. You aren’t going to see changes after the first time. Nor are you going to go from feeling terrible to feeling great one magical day. These are practices that you continue, and the change is gradual. But, it WILL change you.

You have the power. Whether it feels like it in this moment or not, you do have the power to experience the world differently.

Take hold of that power.

It is life-changing.