Are You Programmed to Accept Life As It Is?

Remember those "bits of wisdom" from family members and others who wished the best for us in life?

I can still clearly remember my parents saying to me...

"Be content with what you have and grateful for it. Accept life for what it is." 

This way of thinking about things was so established in my mind that I even believed it as an adult. I had simply come to terms with "accept life for what it is." The idea is that our circumstances and environment dictate how we spend our lives. That life is predetermined and out of our control in every way. Oddly, I did not refute this assertion!

Unfortunately, I was being held back in life by this constricting belief.

I worked as a construction site clerk for my first job out of junior college. It was a respectable job that paid enough to get by. Enough to allow me to pay my share of the family's costs while still allowing me to survive.

I was content to have a job and think that was my life.

But after working for roughly three years, I felt unsatisfied and stuck in life. I was also concerned and unsure about the future.

I longed for a happier existence.

I wanted to be able to support the family financially and provide my parents with the higher standard of living they deserved.

I wanted to work in an office doing "office work," which I would love and in which I would earn more money. However, the phrase "accept life for what it is" kept barking in my head. My inner conversations kept telling me that "it is difficult to get another job." "That  I should be grateful and contented," and "Who are you to work in an office?"

Eventually, fear overcame me, and I just accepted life.

During this period of discontent in my life, a dear friend visited me and wanted to catch up over coffee. He was an executive working in a hotel. He saw my dissatisfaction with my employment throughout our meeting. He started talking to me about an administration course he had recently completed. He then advised me to think about enrolling in the same course to ensure that I had at least the minimal skills required to be eligible for an office job. I was unsure.

Then it occurred to me that perhaps the "bits of wisdom" ingrained in my head since childhood was a little "flawed."

No offense intended to my family or friends. It seems that I had been taught to "Be satisfied and appreciative for what I have and to accept life as it is." 

Out of nowhere, I suddenly remembered these wise words from a wise man: 

"Life is what you create, not what it is."

These stirring words inspired me to reconsider how I may improve my life rather than just accept things as they were. I had a great desire to make changes in my life. I made the decision to pursue and complete the administrative course within two years.

I left my position as a construction site clerk to work as an office administrative executive.

I was making more money and doing what I enjoyed. I was able to pay more for our family's bills and give my parents a higher standard of living.

My whole life changed for the better.

I now realize that our lives are what we create them to be. Rather than being defined and dictated by the old life philosophy that kept me locked in life, I started to have new empowering thoughts and beliefs.

What about you? 

Ask yourself... "What old "bits of wisdom" am I still holding on to that isn't helping me right now?"

Give yourself permission to investigate your options for building the life you want.

Your Turn

What's one action you can take today to release an old belief or philosophy that is no longer serving you, and step into a new, more empowering belief and way of being? 

Remember, you are meant to live a life you love at every age and every stage.

George