Happy monday everyone!
Hope you all had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend.
I had my first classes at uni – and to be honest I am kind of exhausted. Not sure if it’s from getting up at 5:00 AM and arriving home at 8:00 PM or the nearly non-stop classes I have nearly 11 hours straight , but whatever it is – it takes it’s toll on you.
Starting this new year I feel a mixture of nervousness and exitment. I’m enjoying almost all my classes so far (except for bio-chem which is freaking me out more then just a little bit) but it’s also going to be a bunch of work. I know that last semester I didn’t manage the stress so well and ended up with a near nervous breakdown and severely damaged my health to boot. But this year I’m determined to do better.
One thing I’m coming to realize more and more is that we may not choose what happens to us – but we can always choose how we react to what happens to us. I used to be really big on blaming my situation for my physical and mental state of being. I wouldn’t do this out loud of course, but somewhere in my subconcious I justified my actions and wrong choiced because I was faced with “difficult circumstances”.
Let’s give an example. Over the summer someone very close to me went though a severe bout of depression. Although I fought to continue on with my good habits and take good care of myself – I found this persons behaviour very triggering. I felt helpless that I wasn’t able to help and guilty because I felt it must be somehow my fault. I often used my situation as an excuse not to push myself as hard as I should have. I felt like “well I can handly be expected to be in this situation and not be affected by it. Not only do I have to carry my own burdens – but I have the responsibility of taking care of my family as well. So if I don’t push myself (in recovery) as far as I should, it’s really not my fault or my choice”.
I’ve come to realize that nothing could be further from the truth. No, I don’t have control over the situation, but I can control the way I react to this situation. I ALWAYS have a choice.
Life is full of stress, unpleasent situations, difficult relationships and hard times. This might sound pessimistic- but it’s the truth. So if you’re waiting for the perfect situation to recover, or be happy, or push towards your goals (whatever they may be), you’re in for a LONG wait. In fact, chances are you’ll spend your whole life waiting for “just the right moment” and never get anywhere.
Happiness is a choice we make each day. Every day when we wake up in the morning we determine how our day will go. If we choose to be happy, we will be. Sure our plans might mess up, we might have personality clashes with people, bad things might happen. But our ATTITUDE is ultimatly what will determine the outcome of our day.
Recovery is a choice we make each day. No matter what challanges we face we can choose to ignore those pesky little voices in our heads, or defy those bad habits – or we can give into them. No one can make us go one way or the other, no set of circustances can be ultimatly to blame – the choice is ours.
Pursuing our goals is a choice we make. If you’re determined enough you can be or do anything – no matter what lies ahead of you (here’s some living proof if you think otherwise). If you decide that you want something no matter what, you’ll be able to handle whatever obstacles life throws at you – because in your mind you’ve already acheived your goals.
So no more excuses for me – no more using stress, a difficult finantial situations or complicated home life to justify backing out of my commitments. I’m going to keep fighting and moving ahead no matter what – and I am going to acheive my dreams and goals and be happy and healthy while I’m at it.
Today I choose happiness, health and to live a fullfilling and meaningful life. What’s your choice?
What is a big challange you conquered or goal you acheived during your life?
A new start 