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Power in choosing our response
“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
- Marcus Aurelius
Life does not always work out the way we would like it to. We do not get to choose how certain aspects of our lives will unfold. We may want things to go one way, but the Universe seems to have other plans for us. Whether it is in our personal or professional lives, we may not like the situation or outcome, but we do get to choose how we respond. This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by neurologist and psychologist Viktor Frankl:
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
Understanding how we have the power to choose our actions in difficult or unwanted circumstances is what gives us some sense of control over our lives. In Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning (one of the most life-changing books I have ever read), he tells his story of surviving a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust. It’s riveting, sad, inspiring and empowering. Frankl learned how the people who ended up surviving their experience and lived to tell their story were the individuals who never lost hope. The people who already gave up in their own minds were more likely to die at the hands of the Nazis.
