Unlock the Insights That Changed My Life
Each week, I share a glimpse of my ideas and perspectives on life in short 5-minute emails. But there’s so much more depth to explore.
We’re all predisposed to unfortunate circumstances.
Some more than others.
And society blatantly takes advantage of it.
Discriminates by…
Sex. Sexual Orientation. Physical Ability. Class. Caste. Job Title. Education Level. Status. Race. Territory. Age. The list is endless.
And our society is built to take advantage of that.
So, as a result, bad things happen to people.
Bad things happen to us.
And when bad things happen to us, we victimize ourselves.
“Poor me"
“Why did this happen to me?”
“It’s so unfair”
And while it’s alright to give ourselves space to process disappointment, hurt and so on…
What we as humans tend to do is IDENTIFY by our negative experiences.
We turn our traumas and unfortunate circumstances into personality types.
Thereby not just limiting ourselves from any future endeavours, but giving our traumas and predispositions POWER over the direction of our lives…
Losing the very essence of our true selves - submitting to the remnant of what our traumas mowed us down to be.
And then we say things like…
“What’s the point of even trying… I’m a <insert predisposition>”
But what if we stop that thought process in its tracks?
What if we take back control from our unfortunate circumstances?
What if we stopped letting bad situations define us…
And instead let it refine us?
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Currently Consuming:
James Clear’s “Atomic Habits”
Mitch Albom’s “Tuesdays with Morrie” (Trying our fiction for this first time in more than a decade)
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It's a seemingly simple idea, but one that needs a sense of detachment. In Taoism, there is this concept of 'Wu Wei" (doing nothing) ...more accurately 'effortless action'. This requires not the strife ridden striving for a life without "bad things" or experiences, but rather a detached or peaceful acceptance and release of the experiences that come to us. In this state ('flow') we can better perceive our realities and then act with efficiency - meaning we give only as much energy as is needed and move on. I was explaining to a cousin how when handed a basket of eggs ..we should be less concerned why eggs, why me, how many, which chickens and who handed it to you..these are circumstances that now change nothing .. instead we need to shift to what we are in control of and decide what to do with the eggs and accept the responsibility for the dish we turn out..(again not for the circumstances that out of our control but for the actions/decisions we take) A perceptual paradigm shift.