Start With Yourself

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Hey! This is another post from my old newsletter. This one was issue #6, published September 2019. Enjoy!

There's a book I'm currently exploring called The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People. While it's title definitely does sound very "self-help-y" it is truly a magnificent piece of writing.

One of the greatest truths about life has been reinforced in me while I'm reading this book:

You control you.

You control your response to outside events. You decide how you'll respond to one's attack. 

We like to blame our misfortunes on events, people, the overall universe. 

Oh, my husband is so greedy!

The weather is prohibiting me from exercising today!

Susan is making me stressed out!

Let's try to reverse that logic:

My husband never got anything first. Always,  the kids come first, then I, he's always last. And he's the one who's working all day long to get us here. I never think of giving him what he deserves.

I don't want to get very sweaty.

I am stressed out, because Susan wants to get the job done.

See, it's not about blaming yourself for the bad situations that occur. It's about realizing that I control my responses. It's easy to be stressed out, anxious, simply angry. But is it justified? 

I've been meditating every single day for the past 44 days, and, so far, I've learned that crafting more peaceful responses to misfortunes is the way to go. Through deep reflection and proper spiritual guidance, one can truly live stress-free.