Challenges are a part of life. We all encounter events, people and situations we have difficulties accepting or dealing with. They could be your husband's annoying habits, your not-that-great job, your own procrastination, your financial situation, your proverbial mother-in-law, or any situation, thing or person that you "don't agree with".
Here is a real jewel of wisdom I discovered a few years ago which helped me work through some small and really big issues in my own life. I call it "The Only Three Options for Dealing With Obstacles". Here they are:
1. Fully accept the situation as it is,
2. Change it,
3. or Leave it.
Let's say you have a job you don't love. You have a choice to accept it for what it is, see all the good things it offers and learn to love the rest. If there are aspects of it you know you are not willing to accept, you have an option to change them - for example by asking for a raise, redefining your responsibilities, etc. If you are not willing to love your job, you know you can't possibly change it, the only thing you can do is leave it. And if you are not willing to leave it, then you need to go back to option 1 and 2 and select one.
Unhappiness is created when we are in between the three options, kind of in the gray area. It is when we don't like our job and are not choosing to accept it for what it is, and not choosing to change the unacceptable aspects of it, and not choosing to look for a different one. Instead, we are just talking about it, complaining, or suffering in silence, and not really solving anything.
It's a choice. You can decide to embrace fully and love something that is not perfect. You can decide to do your best to change something (or someone, which is much tougher). Or you can choose to leave the situation (or person) or to limit your contact with it.
Just knowing you have a choice allows you to exhale a little and feel some space around the difficulty you are experiencing. It allows you to take a full responsibility for yourself, the quality of your life and your happiness.
Today I invite you to look at your challenges and see how you are choosing (on not choosing) to deal with them. Do you need to move from the gray area to a clear choice? What are your real options? Are you willing to exercise them? If not, what's standing in your way? I would love to hear from you.
Here is a real jewel of wisdom I discovered a few years ago which helped me work through some small and really big issues in my own life. I call it "The Only Three Options for Dealing With Obstacles". Here they are:
1. Fully accept the situation as it is,
2. Change it,
3. or Leave it.
Let's say you have a job you don't love. You have a choice to accept it for what it is, see all the good things it offers and learn to love the rest. If there are aspects of it you know you are not willing to accept, you have an option to change them - for example by asking for a raise, redefining your responsibilities, etc. If you are not willing to love your job, you know you can't possibly change it, the only thing you can do is leave it. And if you are not willing to leave it, then you need to go back to option 1 and 2 and select one.
Unhappiness is created when we are in between the three options, kind of in the gray area. It is when we don't like our job and are not choosing to accept it for what it is, and not choosing to change the unacceptable aspects of it, and not choosing to look for a different one. Instead, we are just talking about it, complaining, or suffering in silence, and not really solving anything.
It's a choice. You can decide to embrace fully and love something that is not perfect. You can decide to do your best to change something (or someone, which is much tougher). Or you can choose to leave the situation (or person) or to limit your contact with it.
Just knowing you have a choice allows you to exhale a little and feel some space around the difficulty you are experiencing. It allows you to take a full responsibility for yourself, the quality of your life and your happiness.
Today I invite you to look at your challenges and see how you are choosing (on not choosing) to deal with them. Do you need to move from the gray area to a clear choice? What are your real options? Are you willing to exercise them? If not, what's standing in your way? I would love to hear from you.
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