What if life doesn’t work the way we think it does?
What if it’s all upside down?
What if, instead of things, people, and events affecting us, we affect them?
I know that this is difficult to digest, so let’s assume that it works both ways: outside factors (people included) affect us just as much as we affect them.
But what do I mean by “we affect them”?
Simply, we can create our feelings. Because we are not the victims of our feelings, our role is not just to wait and see how our life events will affect us. Instead, we have a more active role and thus can decide to feel a certain way. And that’s huge!
It means that we have power over how we feel in any given moment—anytime we feel sadness, we can change it and feel happy. Anytime we feel angry, we can switch it and feel relaxed.
I realize this may sound like too much, but can we try and at least grapple with this concept?
Here’s what I mean:
When you feel sad, decide to feel less sad (or just a little happier).
When you feel angry, decide to feel less upset.
In my experience, this actually works. Yes, it may contradict all that we have been told and all what we believe when it comes to our experiences and how they make us feel (after all, how is it possible that the world is not responsible for how I feel??).
Give it a try.
Decide to change how you feel about a task you have to do today (imagine it’s fun even though you think, deep down, that it’s boring or scary), or maybe change how you feel about someone with whom you aren’t in tune with right now. And see what happens…