What happened? This man took a big proactive step to be the kind of person he wanted to be. He changed his outward situation and still made the exact mistake he was trying to avoid. Why? I think it was because he didn’t change on the inside. At least not enough or in the right ways. His old job, while a negative environment that I applaud him for getting away from, turned out not to be the real issue. He just carried his problems and struggles with him to a new place.
Some of you have found yourselves in very difficult circumstances that you had no hand in creating. Some of you have a much harder life than most through no fault of your own. I get that, I really do. I feel deeply sorry for your pain. But thinking of yourself as a victim will not help you. Whatever hand you’ve been dealt, decide to play it the best you can. You often can’t control what happens to you but you can control how you choose to respond to it. And your response depends on what’s inside of you, not anything on the outside.
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Thanks for the thought provoking words, Matt. Would be great if this were a once and done issue, but I find I must constantly be aware and work at not being my own worst enemy. Praise God for the help He offers --whatever my issues may be!
Thanks so much for the encouragement and for sharing that, Den. So true. This is something I need to constantly work on and I'm grateful for all the help I can get!
Well stated, Matt. Self awareness is really important. Especially when denial and rationalization can be so powerful.
Thanks so much for that, Ron! It really is difficult to be honest with ourselves sometimes but so important if we want to grow. I appreciate the feedback!
You're right - often, we don't care whose fault something actually is - we just want it not to be OUR fault. Or at least, not to LOOK like it was our fault. Why? Because fault creates the responsibility to try to fix what happened. The other side of this, though, is just because something isn't my fault doesn't mean it's not my responsibility.
It's one thing to explore old hurts for the lessons they teach and quite another to live there, wallowing in the anger and pain and loss. As I say to my students all the time, scars tell us where we've been - they don't have to dictate where we're going.
xox
Thanks a TON for that insight, Squeaky! I love your point that "just because something isn't my fault doesn't mean it's not my responsibility." Beautifully said and critical to implement in our lives. And I am totally stealing what you say to your students about scars :). I've never heard it put quite that way before and it's such a powerful image. Thanks for sharing!