![\"Painted](\"https:\/\/static1.squarespace.com\/static\/5c1d7195506fbef564720900\/t\/5ea7c974b77e297c5836b586\/1589430489283\/Screen%2BShot%2B2020-04-28%2Bat%2B2.10.54%2BAM.jpg?format=500w\")
We have allowed our happiness and well-being to been taken hostage by external circumstances out of our control, when they should be dependent on one thing and one thing only: ourselves. When we want to get mad at things outside of ourselves, this is a sign that we must look inward<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, this isn\u2019t to say that we can\u2019t feel sad or angry, or that life isn\u2019t going to feel difficult at times. Rather, it\u2019s that focusing on things we can\u2019t control while holding onto all these negative emotions does us no good in the end. Our perspectives literally shape our realities. So ask yourself, why is this moment so bad that we can\u2019t enjoy it? What is it about our present circumstance that we must stay helplessly victim to it? Because our mind says so? Our minds say many things that end up being not true, and thinking to ourselves that we can\u2019t be happy in this moment, wherever we may be, is the biggest lie of them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Life is necessarily uncertain. Things happen for no particular reason, but they happen because they need to happen. We can\u2019t fight the current of life, no matter how hard we try. All of our planning and attempts to control can only go so far until a monsoon of sudden change comes crashing onto our shores. Nothing hits harder than reality when we\u2019re not fully living in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s not wait for things to \u201creturn to normal.\u201d That day will never come, and while waiting, we\u2019ll be missing out on all the fulfilling experiences we could be having now. Instead, how can we make everything feel \u201cnormal\u201d regardless of what happens outside of ourselves? How can we change our perspectives on these experiences to maximize our own well-being?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I believe living in the present is how we maximize the present. And if we maximize our present, then we can only in turn maximize our future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The mind tries to explain, rationalize, and control our worlds. It tries to make everything we see relatable, like it all makes sense. We have our jobs, our friends, our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-my-thoughts"],"yoast_head":"\n