Where What is Happening Meets Who You Are

• Video Transcript

  What kind of person are you? You are, no doubt, able to see what your attributes are and what kind of personality you have, through your own forgiving eyes.

  And although you have no choice, it's a very important thing to experience this life from your own unique perspective. And specifically, that point where what is happening meets who you are. Because sometimes who you are is being challenged by what is happening to you. And how you act and react will change the course of your life again and again.

  But not only the way your life will go. It's difficult to notice it over a short period of time, but being challenged and then reacting over and over again changes who you are, a little bit at a time. For instance, maybe you are the kind of person who is too selfish with your own time, and always try to do what you want to do. And it could be that you are but you don't really know that you are.

  And of course, you can act however you want to act. But if you are challenged in this area or start to experience friction about how you spend your time, then alarm bells should be ringing. It's better to resist the urge to react and push back until you've had time to look at the issue more objectively. But remember, you are not trying to be a people pleaser, you are trying to make the best choices. So for this example, of how you are spending your time, it's, of course, best to choose the less selfish option every time. And one of the reasons is because the alternative is to keep running into the same friction in the future.

  And you might have already experienced this repetition of the same issue coming up again and again, but the important thing is to realize how to best deal with it, whatever the issue is. There might be a pattern in your life of people saying insensitive things to you. This is not something under your control, but how you act and react is essential to alleviating this issue. And the best point of view to have in this situation is that it is helping you to become stronger and tougher emotionally. And so for this reason, it is unnecessary to make anything else of it.

  Another very different example would be if you ever beat yourself up about what you are doing in your life. And this is not a bad thing. It's good to be keenly aware of what you are not happy with. You can use this to motivate you to look for opportunities to make improvements, or if necessary, to give you the courage to completely change your lifestyle for the better.

  Then there are the kinds of things that you probably already know, or can see more easily. For instance, if you are the kind of person who gets embarrassed easily. When you feel embarrassed, it can be an intensely uncomfortable experience. But it is also one that can help to make you care a little less about being embarrassed the next time it happens.

  Or you might have feelings of guilt or you are ashamed of how you've behaved in the past. And some of these things may have happened a long time ago, but they still come back to haunt you. But there is also a positive side to this too. Because feeling guilty and ashamed compels you to act better, or want to try harder in a certain area, to make up for what you did.

  So, your life gives you things that challenge the kind of person you are. And your reaction should always be to let go of your pride and get on with changing. This should always be at the front of your mind. And you changing because of what's happening to you is more than just the natural course of your life. It is your own evolution, and something you should always actively take part in.