It is not uncommon to meet people who are very easily influenced by the behaviors and reactions of the people around them and, more generally, by what is happening in the world around them. On the one hand, one might think that it is normal for this to happen since we do not live alone but continuously interact with a polymorphic and constantly changing environment. On the other hand, we often end up being “ballasts” of situations and changes, unable to react forcefully and co-form them to a certain extent.
One of our most important human characteristics is the power/ability to choose. We can choose how we live, what we do, how we perceive and analyze an event, and how we react to it. We can complain that the rain spoiled our excursion or choose to enjoy the rain and play in the water puddles with our children… We can leave ourselves to the “fate” of our paternal family, who did not have the financial strength to support our dreams or start something new, in the basement of our house, based on what we already have and evolve… We can get angry and honk at the other drivers because of the traffic that exists, and we will delay at work or turn up the radio and enjoy the rainy ride…
Too many things are not within our control, and there is no point in wasting time and energy on “tying” them. But we have total control over our own (anti)actions, whether we let what happens to affect us. We have the choice to shape the life we think we deserve; we have the option to make a beautiful life; because how we finally live our lives is the set of choices we make every day, and the potential options are limitless!
