What you find is what you spend time looking for. If you’re looking for the positives, then positives you will find. If you’re looking for the negative, then you will find just that. If you’re seeking success, then success is what you will find but if thoughts of fear consume you, guess what? Fear is what will destroy you.
We are gifted with a powerful tool, our brain. I believe our brain is one of the most fabulous creations. How our brain thinks and processes situations impacts how we live our life. You can’t have a positive and peaceful life and have a negative mind.
I often reflect on when I first moved to America, the hardships I endured as I experienced the culture were much more brutal than wars in Iraq. The challenges exceeded what I could handle, and that’s when I had my first encounter with depression. For the first time, negativity consumed my mind. My crying spells increased, and loneliness set in. After a year or so of this misery, I realized I was designed for more. My life had a purpose that was bigger than my struggles. At that moment, I had a choice to make. I can soak in my negative situation or do something about it. So I chose the latter. I pulled myself out of my depression and began the process of changing my thoughts from negative to positive. It wasn’t easy. Siding with fear instead of the unknown is more accessible at times because we tend to find comfort there. But I couldn’t waste the gift and the opportunity I was given. I needed to take advantage of the freedom I was given that so many lost their lives seeking. I pushed myself outside of my comfort level, I immersed myself in the culture to learn every aspect of it and forced myself to shift from an introvert to an extrovert which led to making friends and shifting my entire outcome.
My transition was painful and scary, but I am so glad I took the agonizing steps to push myself. I can’t even imagine how different my life would be now had I not done that.
You can choose your thoughts. The path you side with determines your outcome.