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It’s Not About What Happens to You

Have you heard the saying that goes something like “It’s not about what happens to you, but how you react that matters”? It really is true. There are a few things that happen in between the situation and outcome though. Our thoughts, feelings and actions happen, and they influence the outcome. They usually happen without our awareness!

Did you know you can be intentional in choosing your thoughts? By choosing how you think about a situation, you can influence the outcome. Here is an example:

You are on your way to work and there is more traffic than usual. You have thoughts like “Where did all this traffic come from?” or “I’m going to be late for work!” or “These people don’t know how to drive!”. Your thoughts cause you to feel stressed, annoyed, frustrated, maybe even angry. So you might sit and stew, cut someone off, yell at someone even though they can’t hear you - you get the idea! And what is the outcome? You might be late to work but you are late AND in a bad mood and maybe weren’t a nice person to the other drivers. Your negative thoughts didn’t change the situation, that there was traffic, they only affected YOUR OUTCOME.

Now let’s try this example but you DECIDE to think a different thought. There is more traffic than usual on your way to work. You choose to think “Oh, there’s a lot of traffic today” or “It’s going to take me longer to get to work today” or “I wonder if there is an accident” or maybe even “Yay! I can use this time to call my sister or listen to more of my audiobook!”. These thoughts cause you to feel curious, accepting, patient, compassionate, or excited. You might now enjoy the sights you normally ignore, turn up the radio, call your sister, enjoy more of the audiobook - you get the idea!! You might be late to work, but now you are in a better mood and show up as the kind of person you want to be. Your new thoughts still didn’t change the situation, but you achieved a better outcome.

See the difference? We can’t change what happens to us but we can choose our thoughts on purpose!!

Working with a life coach can help you rewire your brain to more positive thinking, so you can show up as the person you want to be. Who is helping you along the way? If you don’t have a coach yet, I would love to guide you in your journey!! Contact me for a FREE discovery call.