Everyday of our lives, we are the main character. We live life through our eyes, our values, and our perspectives. Because of that, the metric of measurement of what a “good” life is, and what is relevant to us, is completely individualized. While life experiences can change these values and perspectives, we still ultimately determine what is most important to us. What I consider to be good won’t necessarily be what you consider to be good, but what we have in common is that we have the power to determine what is “good” to us. Basically we all have the power to live a good life. And why shouldn’t the main character life a good life?
We don’t control what goes on in the world, but we do control how we react to the world. We hold the power to shift our mindset; and that power to shift our mindset can change our lives. It sounds so simple, command your mindset = the road to a good life. And it really is that simple, it’s just not that easy.
It’s easier to just dwell and mope about things than it is to accept things for what they are and shift perspective. At the end of April my house caught fire. It was a pretty big fire too — after the fire fighters came and put the fire out, the house wasn’t habitable. And it sucked. I was just about to start my new job in a few days, my wedding was in two months, and my house just caught fire. My significant other and I worked hard to buy this house; we put a lot of work into the house to make it what it was, and in a matter of moments the fire put a lot of extra skylight and openings to our house that weren’t intended.
But it happened — and there was nothing I could do but accept that it happened. Of course this isn’t to say I wasn’t upset and didn’t grieve our home; I admit it was hard to accept the house fire. But everyone got out safely (pets included), we had family and friends that were there in a heartbeat to help us, and even though I knew my significant other and I put so much time and effort into fixing up our house, I also knew this time around we wouldn’t be the ones redoing it all over again. Once I reminded myself of what I truly valued and what I considered to be important, it was a lot easier to move forward; with a shift in mindset I knew even through this tragedy my life was still good.
Some thing’s in life are just plain unpleasant. And it’s okay to feel upset about things. There is a lot of value in experiencing our emotions at letting them run their course. But while feeling upset is uncomfortable it helps build resilience and gives us more control of our life by moving past the negativity, growing from it, and acknowledging that we define what is true and important to us. Accepting the responsibility and truth that the only one who can really change your mindset is you, also makes you realize that the only person who can really determine if you have a good life of not is you.
After all, life is only as good as YOUR mindset.