Life is amazing.  Sometimes something that is perceived as ‘the end of the world’ turns out to be a catalyst in our life.  It all has to do with our perception.  A lot of us tend to let our expectations determine our labeling of if something is good or bad.  If it doesn’t go the way we planned, it was not good.  Now, I am not saying that truly bad things can’t happen.  There are many things that should not be happening today and are not good, like animal cruelty, child abuse and environmental destruction.  Even those things should be a catalyst for change.  I am just saying that when change happens in our life, we should try not to label it as good or bad, because that label can determine our future actions and thoughts.

For example, if we see a job loss as bad and detrimental, our thoughts are going to go to places like: ‘I am not good enough’ or ‘I’ll never get a job that good again’.  Whether we understand it or not, those thoughts are going to drive our future employment opportunities.  We may only apply for jobs that are a level or two below our previous job, because we don’t feel worthy.  Or we may have bad interviews due to our lack of confidence.  Now compare that to someone who sees the job loss as a change and only a change, not necessarily bad, just different.  That person will go right out and start looking for another job like their last one or better.  Their interviews will go well because they see opportunity and not doubt.

Will there be temporary financial struggles?  Maybe.  Will your living situation change?  Maybe.  Again, without labeling it as bad, it is just different.  Sometimes people can get so caught up in their temporary situation and labeling it that they cannot see beyond it or see how to move past it.  This is when we can get stuck inside our head and our thoughts.  This can become a dangerous situation if we don’t realize what we are doing to ourselves.

It may take some practice to change this pattern.  My suggestion for someone who wants to change this pattern is that when there is some major, unexpected change in your life and you feel yourself starting to get depressed or caught up in your thoughts, try to pause and drop the labels.  You may have to do this over and over again until it becomes your new habit, but it will change your outlook on life.  You may not understand right now why this is happening, but there is a bigger plan.  Change happens whether we want it to or not, this is a good exercise to help our minds handle the transition.