Illness is in part what the world has done to a victim, but in a larger part it is what the victim has done with his world.
- Karl Menninger, psychiatrist (1893-1990)
If you are reading this message, then you are doing all right.
No matter what your personal circumstances, no matter what your financial situation, no matter what relationships you may or may not have, no matter how much pain you may be in or may have suffered in the past, compared to most people in the world you are doing all right.
Let's put this in perspective. If you are doing all right compared to most people in the world, then why not believe that your world is treating you just fine? Does it make sense for you to fuss and worry and suffer over matters that most people in the world would love to have rather than their own problems?
As you are reading this, you have a good head on your shoulders. People respect you. More people likely love you than you can imagine. You can do things with your mind and maybe with your hands that most people can't. Even if you can't find evidence of these things yourself, it doesn't mean that they aren't true. It may simply mean that you are not looking in the right places.
For one thing, you can think, something that could not be credited to most people in the world, at least beyond a surface level.
When you fuss over what's wrong in your life, you mistreat yourself. Worry can affect blood pressure, the immune system and if you fear something you likely give yourself too many shots of epinephrine (Adrenalin), which can negatively impact any of your body organs.
How you look at life is how you interpret your life to be. It has less to do with what life has dealt you and more to do with what you have done about it.
If you want your life to change and want it to change quickly, it won't cooperate. Any major life change happens slowly if you have control over it. That's just as well because it takes lots of time to build the little blocks that will comprise the foundation of your new life.
If you want your life to be better, no one can do it for you. If you want your life to change quickly, you are doomed to failure. You are responsible for your own future. You build it one step, one block at a time.
If you believe that someone else is responsible for your future, then you are an emotional slave. That too has been your choice. If you don't like it, choose differently.
What do you want to accomplish in your life? How do you plan to do it?
Stop fussing about what's wrong and start building on what's right.
Start with yourself. You must be right before you begin.
Bill Allin
Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems, striving to give you a push in the direction you want your life to go.
Learn more at http://billallin.com
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Comments: 4
I think the truth is life is a series of challenges and obstacles that have to be overcome. Satisfaction with life consists of overcoming those obstacles. No matter what happens, you can sit on your butt and complain or you can work towards change, whether the change needed is personal, social, or some of each. I think that's where personal strength and a real feeling of security comes from. Learning by experience that you can, literally, overcome. Once you've made it through one thing, the next is easier.
Sort of like that old saying: If wishes were horses beggars would ride. Nothing's gonna change unless you make it change.
The part about owning a computer was implicit (or was intended to be so) in "if you are reading this," but it doesn't hurt to bring it to everyone's attention.
A worthy follow-up question to your comment would be: do beggars know how to make their wishes come to pass? I believe they don't. In fact, I would go so far as to say that most people would starve to death if they didn't have employment made possible for them by someone else. That's not to condemn anyone, but to note that we don't teach people how to be self-sufficient. We teach them how to be dependent.
Now there's a book to be written.
You seem to have you head on the right track. That will go a long way toward evening out your brain chemistry, which has to be a big help.
You have yet to learn--and I can't help there--how much your brain can control its own chemical imbalances. You can, however, force it to take control by great determination.