I noticed something today. Most of the time when I feel a strong emotion I attribute it to the thing I'm reacting to. For example:
Clean countertop? Makes me feel happy.
Playing beautiful music? Makes me feel sublime.
Screaming kids? Makes me feel aggravated.
Conflicting priorities at work? Makes me feel overwhelmed.
And I'm not the only one. How many times have you heard (or said) the phrase, "S/he makes me so mad." Yep. It's baked right into our language.
So what's the problem? After all, if everyone does it how could it be so bad?
Take a closer look at each of the common phrases above. In every case where you jump from a situation that is outside of yourself to a feeling that you have about it, you are placing your power someplace else.
You give power to the state of your home, to the sound of the music, to the emotions of others, or the clarity of your work.
None of those things have inherent power. They gain it in your mind. That's the source of all meaning and worth.
So when we jump from a situation to our feeling without pausing to consider our role in assigning it value--positive or negative--we miss out on the most important part of the whole thing:
Our ability to create the life of our dreams.
Think about it, if you notice that you're assigning meaning to everything, then you get to choose how sacred your life is right now.
You don't have to wait until the world around you conforms to your vision of perfection to be living an absolutely perfect life.
Your partner doesn't have to change. Your bank account doesn't have to grow. Your kids don't have to behave. Your boss doesn't have to speak differently.
It can all be magical. And the way you speak about it is a simple pathway to making it so.
We'll be exploring this in more depth during the 8-week Revitalize Your Relationship course that Erin and I are offering. If you want to step out of the Matrix that most people are in and into your power as a creator of your life, come join us.
