We are responsible for how we experience everyone and everything.
Not for what other people say or do, but for how we experience it.
Most of us don't live like that. I know I certainly didn't for a long time. Someone says something or does something, and straight away our brain takes off!
She said X. He did X. They made me feel X. It's really happening, I'm not making it up.
Maybe they did say it. Maybe they did do it. But how you're experiencing it is coming from the story you've got running the whole time. And that story is yours.
Two people can go through the exact same week. One comes out of it angry, tired, blaming everyone. The other comes out of it better. Same week. Different story.
I've noticed that this can be hard to hear for a lot of people, because it takes away the excuses. I can't blame my partner for my mood. I can't blame my work or business partner, my kids or the guy who cut me off on I-25. It's on me.
The opportunity with this is that you can change it. You can say, "It's on me, I can change it." You don't have to wait for anyone else to change. You can flip the script to something better and more enjoyable, right now.
Examples being things like:
- She snapped at me, OR she's had a rough day.
- He's disrespecting me, OR this is a chance to stay calm.
- Everything's going wrong, OR this is the stuff that builds me and I'm going to learn from it.
Same facts. Different experience. I get to pick.
You either consciously create your reality or you're a victim to it.
This week: catch yourself every time you think "they made me feel..." Stop. Ask what story you're telling. Then pick a better one.