Choices

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that are less than fair, in situations that we didn’t ask to be in or did nothing to cause it, but yet, here we are, having to deal with it.

At times there’s nothing we can do to change a situation and feeling hopeless and pissed-off is all we think we have left. But that’s not always true. Hear me out for a minute – we may not be able to control the situation BUT we can control how we choose to react to the situation. And if we’re able to decipher between what is within our control and what is out of our control we can say we have won half the battle. Ridiculous? Not so much and here's why. I can’t change that someone, for whatever reason, has chosen to act like a jerk with me but I can control how I choose to react to them. I can choose to allow the jerk to bring out the worst in me or I can choose to control my reaction and work on being a better person. I can choose to engage or I can choose to walk away, I can choose to yell back or remain calm. I can choose to fight back physically or destructively or I can choose to fight back intelligently and actually accomplish something. Notice something? Not once have I mentioned changing the situation because that may be out of my control. However, my entire focus has been only on how I choose to react.
We always have choices – they may not be the choices we want to deal with but they are still choices. 

My go to prayer: 
“God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 
Courage to change the things I can, 
And the Wisdom to know the difference.”   

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