How much control do we really have? Stuff is going to happen in life. Stuff that will test us. Stuff that will try to push us over the proverbial edge. That's a fact. The only choice we have is how we deal with it.
This might sound like a trite statement but mindset is what separates people from those who feel fulfilled and those who do not. Fulfilment is rarely found in the area of status, career achievement or the material things that we possess. Even if these things can feel good to have or do, they often don't resemble what we thought about when we envisioned them.
For example, someone who gets a promotion at work might have greater status, possibly more money and - momentarily - a feeling of greater self-worth through a form of recognition that getting a promotion brings. Pretty soon after though it probably becomes clear that this new tenancy doesn't come for free, or without a whole load of new challenges. Challenges that - depending on how they are seen and how they're approached - can feel difficult or perhaps not depending on the person’s mindset.
Situations in life can sometimes leave us feeling a little beaten. Sometimes even out of control. Sometimes we might feel like a prisoner to the 'things that happen in life'. In the most extreme cases we can even feel like a slave. We often might feel overwhelmed by an apparently never-ending list of 'stuff that needs to be done'. Or we might convince ourselves that there isn't enough time to do the things that we would really want to do.
I have very good news though. The only thing that is holding us back from seeing all things differently is, well, us. Here's the thing: how we see the world and the things around us is all about our mindset. We always have a choice of whether we see something positively or negatively. We can choose how to approach someone or something. We can choose how we respond. We can choose the words we use.
It doesn't always feel like it but a life without challenges, setbacks and issues would make things pretty bland. And we'd be unlikely to learn anything. So we need these things. We need shit to happen.
So if things happen and this fact can't, or shouldn't, be changed then mindset is everything. Our mind is not a closed box, even if feels like this at times. But it could not be further from the truth. It is a world of possibilities. Situations are not fixed. In physics it is said that what is real is only real if it can be observed. And it is we who observe it. Our opinion about a thing drives whether the thing is good or bad. Because something is only good or bad if we see it one way or the other. Whether we see high walls or small hurdles. Whether we see challenges or we see opportunities.
Over the last year I have spent time focusing on reframing life's day-to-day challenges and I have found that simply looking at the same thing differently can often change it significantly. It is of course the same thing, but how I perceive it looks very different.