We’ve all heard the statement that 10% of life is what happens to you and 90% is how you react to it.
In reality, that’s true. Everyone is navigating through life in ways which are decreed based on their reactions to major and minor events in life.
That's why instead of titling this article “Living on Your own Terms”, I chose “Reacting on Your own Terms”.
People will always complain that things are out of their control. We’ve heard people say things like “if only I had this” or “if only I went to that school” etc.
This is a type of reaction whether we like to call it that or not. These people are reacting to their unique circumstance in a negative way.
Thus, it won’t surprise you that these people will still remain negative. If life is 90% reacting to what happens to us and we choose to be negative in our reactions, we will get nowhere in life. Our energy will be so low that not only will people despise us and ridicule us, but we will be despising and ridiculing ourselves.
Deep down we all know what we have to do; what our responsibilities are.
To best take care of our responsibilities, we must respond to what happens to us in a positive way.
Think of the same people who complain that “if only I had this” or “if only I went to that school”. Imagine how their lives would be if they replaced these thoughts with “I’m worthy of everything good” or “I will excel at this school and make the most out of it”? These are completely different mindsets, and will produce completely different lives.
Again, these are reactions. Reactions to circumstances to be specific. Did we choose which circumstance each and every one of us were put in? No. But our reactions to it dictate what can happen.
I can name countless individuals who were born into/put into circumstances that would make any average individual give up on life.
But we aren’t average aren’t we?
If you’re reading this, chances are you aren’t average. You’re on the path to Self-Improvement, to Tasawwuf, to Alchemy.
The truth is, the individuals such as Serena Williams, Jim Carrey, Albert Einstein, Ben Carson, Benjamin Franklin, Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, and others all went through the path of self-improvement. Call it Tasawwuf, Alchemy, Realization, whatever works best for you.
Each one had been put into circumstances which average people would give up from. I am 100% that these individuals all reacted in a positive way.
Jim Carrey was homeless living in a van, but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of best comedy actors in the world. Oprah Winfrey was molested by family members and was sexually harassed during her first job, but that didn’t stop her from becoming the Entrepreneur and media icon. Albert Einstein couldn’t speak until he was 3 and his teachers complained of his laziness, but he became the world-famous physicist who proved the Atomic Theory and General Theory of Relativity.
There never would’ve been the Jim Carrey, Oprah Winfrey, or Albert Einstein we know if they reacted negatively to their situations.
The statement at the beginning of this article is as shown, true to the core. 10% of life is what happens to you and 90% is how you react to it.
No matter how tough the circumstance is, take it as a blessing. You have the power to overcome it. You have the power to show the world what you’re made of.
All depends on how you react.
Commit Alchemy
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