OUR LIFE SITUATION AND PERCEPTION

As life flows on, sometimes we are not very satisfied with what life brings us. Maybe we want to change the company we work for, maybe our profession no longer provides us with inner fulfillment and we want to do a job that makes us happy, maybe we want more free time, maybe we want more money, maybe we want a lover or spouse whom we love and who loves us, maybe we want children, or maybe we just want to travel the world...

From my own experience, what I have realized is this:The thing that undermines us most in life is our desires and emotions.

Having a dream, a wish, or a desire about life is not a bad thing. What is bad—and what causes us to undermine ourselves—is constantly telling ourselves and maybe those around us that we are unhappy because of the conditions we are in, and complaining about it. This is clearly like hypnotizing ourselves. The more we tell ourselves or others this, the more we believe this reality, and our unhappiness increases, settling over us like a dark cloud. Focusing on the negative only makes us a little more depressed, perhaps a bit more helpless and powerless, but it definitely does not provide a solution.

However, if our dream, wish, or desire becomes a source of motivation that leads us to a happier, more peaceful, and more fulfilling inner state, then of course these become a power source that will push us to take steps beyond the conditions we currently live in. If we cannot change the conditions of that day, the first thing we need to do to awaken this inner power is to change our perspective and interpretation of the conditions we are in. Changing our perspective from negative to positive is like watching life through colorful glasses rather than interpreting it through gray ones. Shifting our focus from what we complain about to what we can be thankful for will support us in having a more positive state of mind.

This is the ONLY THING within our control, influence, and power to change ON THAT DAY.

Our next step is to ask ourselves in what direction we can change the unsatisfactory conditions in order to build a life we will be satisfied with. Reflecting rationally on what we need to do to change the life conditions we are unhappy with, making a plan accordingly, and putting that plan into action will gradually lead us to a place where we are more content with life.

Instead of seeing life’s pressure as something to complain about, we need to see it as a door opening to change. Just like the metaphor that coal must be compressed to become a diamond, life may be pressing us in some areas to push us into action. Until we change the conditions we are in, our primary duty to ourselves is to maintain our inner peace and happiness.

Gökçe YILMAZ