Life is messy. We will be hurt, taken advantage of, and pushed to our limits many times throughout our life. We can either choose to be a victim or we can choose to take back our control. It’s not about simply having a good attitude. It’s not about eliminating anger and pain because many times those feelings can propel us forward instead of staying in a place of stagnation and helplessness. The freedom I am talking about is the control we have over our own minds and our own decisions. We cannot stop the actions of others that victimize us, but we can choose whether or not to look for solutions.
We can choose to find peace within ourselves in the midst of chaos. We can choose to focus on the things we can do. We can choose to look forward instead of focusing on the past that cannot be changed. When something bad happens, we cannot go back in time and stop that event from happening. Since we can’t change the past, we can either choose that nothing can be done and be stuck in the never ending cycle of that pain with repeatedly being victimized all over again, or we can choose to take a step forward and create a new future. We can always choose our next step.
The question then becomes, will I take a step forward or will I stand still? When I say take a step forward, I mean do something different, just one thing instead of taking the same steps over and over again, day after day. Take a step forward and walk in a line instead of a circle to get to a new place both mentally, physically, and spiritually. Spiritually isn’t a reference to religion, yet a reference to the spirit within you.
We always have a choice. The options may not include what you really want, but one choice always leads us to another set of options. With each step, we can get closer to what we want, which does not reside within the circle we continue to walk out of pure necessity. Make a plan, take a step outside of your circle, revise the plan if needed, and then take another step.