Self-Concept Thursday!

Your Inner World Rules Your Outer World

Life is calling you. All the time. Do this. Do that. Don’t do anything at all. There’s always a fork in the road. Sometimes you don’t even know it’s there, but it is. Sometimes you hear it, see it, feel it…this urge…this moment that comes to visit briefly. It may whisper, it may shout, but it’s always saying something. Are you listening?

The perpetual, invisible fork is the following question: how are you going to respond? To what? To everything.

We allow the outer world to control our inner world because we don’t understand that the more we control our inner world, the more we control the outer world. It often acts the other way around, but we’re so much more effective in our lives when we understand this. The past few weeks have proven this to be true.

Out of nowhere, my job suddenly became a place I slightly dreaded. I wasn’t even fully aware of it, but I noticed it when I realized time was my obsession. “What time is it?” and “how much longer will I be here?” Sure signs of danger. Everyone and everything was a problem and I played the victim to all the haphazard incidents and wrongdoings.

When somebody/everybody else is always the problem, maybe the problem is really you.

I toyed with this thought. Maybe it was me. Maybe people have been responding to my energy. Maybe I’ve been sweating all the small stuff. Maybe.

On my way to work one morning, I decided I’d be happy for no reason. No matter what. There was an immediate difference. My co-workers responded to me differently. My customers responded to me differently. The interactions were pleasant. Work was enjoyable again. I walked with a smile and the energy radiated.

I took the same approach the next day. Before leaving work, one of my co-workers asked, “Okay, what happened before you came into work yesterday?”

I smiled and said, “I changed my mind.”

I no longer dread my job. On the contrary, I rather enjoy interacting with such a variety of personalities. Even when someone else isn’t pleasant towards me, I’m granted an opportunity to respond—not react—to them. I don’t have to allow them to ruin my good mood. Now when I start feeling frazzled by what’s going on, I remind myself to chill out and choose my response. It’s amazing how easy it is to be reactionary to everything and everyone, so much so that we forget we can choose how we will thoughtfully respond instead of taking the reflex reaction route.

We have the opportunity to choose our response all the time. We can decide what path will lead to further pain or greater pleasure. Be vigilant about finding these opportunities. Listen to the call, that urge for change. Check your frequency and watch the change.

You have power in your life.