It is a CHOICE

Our daily life is challenging in many ways.

Work, family, health, traffic, colleagues, friends – each one presents its own unique battles.

And each one its own kind of pain.

It’s like we wake up every day to get to work as a punching bag.

But Marcus tells us that these external events and people are not the cause of our pain. These are outside us. So they can’t hurt us.

What hurts us is our judgement of that event or person.

It is our estimate or perception of what happened to us that causes the pain. Our analysis or judgement.

When a 3-year-old calls you a silly fool, you laugh and call it cute.
When your colleague calls you a silly fool, you call HR.

One lightens us, and the other burdens us.

The most important point Marcus makes?

We have the power to change our judgement at any given moment.

We control our response.

We can CHOOSE how we feel about a situation or person.

We can CHANGE how we feel.

We don’t have to bear the burden. If we so choose.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU CAN DO TODAY?

When a distressing situation arises, take a pause. Don’t react immediately. Don’t judge immediately.

Instead, think about how best you can respond to that situation.

Instead of anger, perhaps compassion might be better. Instead of frustration, some laughter?

You have a choice. Choose wisely.