Not good, nor bad.

Not good, nor bad.

The image above is a screenshot from "The Daily Stoic" by @ryanholiday 

It's the 2nd year I've been following along with the books daily reading. Taking some time to write in my morning pages on what that day's passage means to me + how I can implement/weave the teachings into my day. @dailystoic

Today's passage, "Not good, nor bad," has been my greatest teacher + has had the most profound impact on my life.

I first learned of it back in 2013 when I purchased "Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library” By Gregory Hays

My copy is pretty beaten up as I've crossed oceans with it, used it to hold up power cords while living in airports, + have read it at least 100 times.

Events that happen in our lives are just that, events. They just "are." It's our own minds that decide if this event is good or bad.

Our assigning meaning to them of good or bad is based on many factors, from our previous experiences, our values + beliefs, to just name 2.

And yet, even if we've associated something horrible with that specific experience in the past, we can choose to give it a new meaning.

@michaelbbeckwith has a saying that I love: As humans, we have the ability to have thoughts independent of our external circumstances.

Really it all comes down to the NLP term of Reframing. Make the intentional decision to frame your thoughts about this idea/event in an empowering versus disempowering way.

What's a current situation in your life that could empower you if you were to give it a different meaning?

I know for me personally that yesterday I was faced with some really big financial challenges + I'll admit, they had me in tears most of the day….

After journaling this morning + the beautiful reminder of today's Daily Stoic, I have shifted the negative meaning + found a much more empowering way to look at the challenges so that I can move forward today.

And just to make sure I am really paying attention today, the Abraham-Hicks Daily email reminded me once again about the importance of our thoughts + the meanings we give to things in our lives.

NOTE: HERE is the link to my original Instagram post.