“To recognize that my upsets come from myself is the first step to remedying them.” —Anthony De Mello
In his classic book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote, “When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves… Everything can be taken from a human 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.”
No situation and nobody can make us feel or do anything. Viktor Frankl showed us that. We always have a choice to react or not. For those who claim that unleashing their ire feels good and have no intention of changing, that’s another matter. Perhaps it feels good until things get out of control, somebody gets hurt, or the damage cannot be rectified.
A preventive and more mature approach is making a U-turn and practicing the 90-second rule before the damage is done. Scientists say that constant reaction to things beyond our control not only creates misery but it also shortens our lives. Chronic reactivity creates a stressful biochemical boomerang that weakens the immune system and increases the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke.
According to Taylor, from a neurological perspective, we have the power to choose moment by moment how we want to be in the world.
Find out how HERE
