Living in "What if?"

In a world of surprises and unexpected obstacles, I find myself asking "why?" or "what the heck just happened?" And then I remember the wise words of my Grandma: "This too, shall pass". Or the timeless advice: "life isn't happening TO you, it's happening for you".

These nuggets of knowledge are helpful... when I'm done being frustrated by stepping in the mudpuddles I believe I could have prevented(?)

What if: I had a plan? Would that have prepared me for what was to come?

What if: I changed the lenses of victimhood and saw life for what it is?

What if: When crap happens, it's actually a result of poor planning?

OR

What if: I know that no matter what is to come you understood you have a choice, moving forward?

What if: I believe that this WILL pass?

What if: I opened my eyes to bigger possibilities?

What if: I take ownership of my life

What do these things look like to you?

There are so many possibilities in this life that we are living. We have an opportunity everyday to choose how we live in an unpredictable world. In fact the only thing we CAN control in the whole wide world is our Self.

What a beautiful thing, to have free will. To be able to choose our reaction and alter our path based on the information we have.

So, now, we get to choose our action/reaction. We also get to choose our feelings. When we do this, we free ourselves from the lifelong responsibility of behaving, feeling and living with another persons set of rules.

What if, instead of telling yourself "I'm afraid of the possibilities" you say "I'm EXCITED about what can happen for me"? What if you saw a disaster coming and decided to make it advantageous instead of having your world rocked?

By all means, sit in your feelings and explore the wins and losses. Honor your initial feelings for a few moments and if you have to: set a timer! Too often we immerse ourselves in how we failed, how we could have prevented the problem by doing [insert actions] and sit with the for days, weeks, months and YEARS. When we decide to live in the outcome we blind ourselves to the potential changes we can make.

So, please, when you've finished having all the feels over a situation you may not have had control over in the first place

• Ask your Self "what if I decide to own this situation and win?"

• Change your lens on life from Victimhood to Ownership

• Get up

• Dust off

• Make a plan to do better

• Win on a new path forward