One of the most self-empowering declarations we can make, is the ownership of self. Follow through on those choices are liberating. Empowerment is not something we can be given. Nobody else can give us the choice to do something. The act of saying, “I’m giving you the choice …” translates to someone else thinking it’s theirs to give. It’s not.

Choice is power that comes from the core of who we are in relation to all else. We are paralyzed by it, or, we are liberated with it. We can’t avoid the slings and arrows, as Shakespeare said, and yet, we can create a mindset that prepares us for the worst, and the best, of times.

Viktor Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Free Will

I am so entertained by the schools of psychology that debate the nuances of the human condition. Destiny or free will? The chicken or the egg? Positivity or negativity? These are not either/or scenarios. They are on a sliding scale that never fully stops moving throughout the span of a human being’s life.

From pre-birth to after death, we are in a dance with universal experiences. We are part of the whole, not outside of it. When we learn through experience, we can choose what’s next. Why then, do we allow anyone ever to tell us what to think, or how to be? Social norms and group think stand as the challenge to our ability to live our beautiful truth.

Choice in Action

One of the hardest parts of making choices for ourselves is navigating the station we are born into. Or, leaving the mindset behind after healing. When trauma happens, we didn’t choose it, yet it can happen to any one of us at any time. It can cripple us with negative thoughts, emotions, and sometimes, even the body we live in. That is when the work becomes more challenging. We can follow all the rules, take all the actions or walk the steps toward the life we want to choose. But, when others throw hard challenges on our path, we have a decision to make.

Do we give in to the pressure of falling, or do we rise up stronger than before?

“We are our choices” ~ Jean Paul Sartre

We can choose how we think, but that sometimes takes a conscious effort to come back to hope. Choice is not a way of being as much as a way of thinking. We are free to think as we will. Sometimes, that means developing grit. Other times? Making the choice to decide for ourselves if we are going to live by someone else’s decisions, or walk confidently into our own authentic life is not always easy, but it is always worth it.

Peace!

*+ respect that not all cultures believe any of this to be truth. My choice is to have gratitude for living in a space that honors a person’s choice to believe it to be true.

Karen

Karen Henry, MA, PhD (c) Author of Indelible Women. Reiki Master. Owner, Henry Healing. Positive Psychology Practitioner since 2007, and former university professor.

“We Are The Positive Psychology People”

The post Grit. Grace. Gratitude. Choice appeared first on The Positive Psychology People.

‘I have abundance of …’, finish that sentence in your own voice. ‘I am abundant in …’,  finish that sentence. Turn it into an action word, and now,  a present day, ‘now’ phrase. The self-help industries tell us to envision it, as if we already have what we want. So do some theories in practice in the field of psychology. And in the sports industries. 

There is an interesting phenomenon happening in the world right now. A pull toward alternative methods of health and healing  being reexamined along with the science of what it is to be human. They are more in sync with each other than one would imagine. I know this because I study both. Some of you do too.  

Openness to new experiences

We know that several theories and models in psychology pay attention to how open people are, as a way of seeing the world. We also know that our belief system is a hot topic for today’s times that are constantly in the light. 

People are noticing every single event that goes on in the world, giving them an overdose of information. Then, they are wondering why they feel so very stressed out and overwhelmed. 

We are stressed out and overwhelmed because we are taking in too much of everything. We are abundant with information, but not necessarily clarity or education or even common sense. We are flooded with seeing a side of others we never knew was there because we are using our own lens to decide who that person is, based on a small sliver of public information about them. 

Positive Abundance

Perhaps we can best serve our areas of the world by focusing on the balance of abundance. Too much of anything is just too much.

That includes exposure to negative or adverse experiences. This includes the rigors of test taking, yet no time to absorb what is being taught. It also includes, too many stories that tend to have a negative hue, while so many millions of positive stories are tossed on the pile of ‘whatever’ just so someone can capture the attention of the panicked masses. 

We are afraid, yet can’t look away from fear. Or death. The very thing that frightens us is what we give our mental audience to. Why is that? Because it’s a basic survival instinct. 

It’s programed into our DNA, as a way to be on guard, to be vigilant against intruders to our soul. Those who have never had a negative or hard experience, don’t fully grasp the vigilance, but for those who have, grasp it with abundance. 

Yet, for those who practice faith with clarity, also practice knowing what’s valuable by using the tools of health and healing. Grit gets us through the tough times. Grace allows us to feel connected to the power of balance. And gratitude? It allows us to see the positive abundance we can choose to live with. It’s Vitamin D for the beautiful truth of who we are as humans. 

What we choose is entirely up to us. 

Peace!

Karen

Author of Indelible Women. Reiki Master. Owner, Henry Healing. Positive Psychology Practitioner since 2007, and former university professor.

“We Are The Positive Psychology People”

The post Grit. Grace. Gratitude. Abundance appeared first on The Positive Psychology People.