The Three Keys To My Most Beneficial Mindset
Over the years, I’ve struggled with finding the best possible way to frame all of the things that have happened, are happening, and will happen in my life. Sometimes, I tend to focus in on how present I am in my day to day, other times I think that big picture thinking is what will propel my future. Often, I contemplate the nature of my actions, and how my decisions affect everything around me; what is planned or depends on others versus what change I make just by being and doing me. Although all of this comes back to purpose and perspective, there are three specific keys to my mindset that I have found consistently create a foundation for stability and success. They underlie every single decision I make and how I process the world around me. They shape who I am and who I want to be. Those three things are:
Trust In A Bigger, Perfect Plan
Everything is laid before me and everything that happens is for a purpose outside of my control. Laying aside my worries by prioritizing trust in all of the mistakes I have made, good and bad circumstances that have constructed my reality, relationships and opportunities that are to come, hurt I have endured and caused, hurt I will endure and cause, unimaginably good things that have arisen in my life and unforeseen turns in the road ahead of me, allows me to live with freedom. I know that regardless of what happens to me or anyone around me, I am protected within God’s hands (or for others it may just be under the umbrella of a greater good or general faith, etc.). Believing that I only have this specific life because I was formed exactly as I was to make the most of it, keeps me living with content no matter what comes my way. This also allows me to stay present when events occur in my life. With faith in the greater plan, I can know that all of the little things along the way. that may not be pointing me toward what I envisioned for myself, are for a better, perfect route. A route I could have never imagined- where I wouldn’t have had the same opportunities to meet and connect with the same people, see and experience the same places, or learn and understand the same things, if I did have control of my life.
Understanding That Hardships & Trials Are Opportunities For Growth
Having things that challenge you, make you sink, make you question, and cause things to change, are given to you to make you stronger in ways you don’t know are possible. I’ve come to terms with the fact that bad things have just as much of a rightful place in this world as good things do. Although frustration, confusion, and doubt arise in the times that I am navigating trials, I do my best to remind myself over and over that I am becoming a stronger and more impactful individual by undergoing every single instance of suffering thrown my way. It is a beautiful concept to embrace things that strip you to your core. Once you build yourself back up, you are able to see that in the process, you developed so much more understanding, patience, forgiveness, and love than you could have ever imagined. Don’t let the hurt harden you; use it as fuel to be a better person, glorify the good, and let newly found tenderness invite others into your heart.
Belief That All People Are Inherently Good
Actions and personalities can sometimes tell otherwise, but at heart, I believe that most people do not intentionally act against others with direct malice or zero remorse. There is always an underlying cause for the faults we make and the courses of action we choose to take. The challenge is for those who were faulted in the process to give those who caused them pain the room and chance to grow above their mistakes. If we characterize and label others as certain things or in certain ways, we make it infinitely more difficult for them to be anything outside of that box they were placed in. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Believe that they are more than what their past has given others the idea of. Believe in their goodness. Give them a chance to show that. And be someone who exhibits and speaks up for that belief that they are better than what they may feel or others think they are.
*Upon consideration of this last key, I wanted to address the fact that some may view a belief in the goodness of others as idealistic and naive. People hurt other people all of the time. Things happen in life that are not good in any respect. They do not come from good places and good things do not directly come out of them. Yes. I cannot say enough how I am not trying to diminish anything bad that has ever happened to anyone in life. Because it is a complete fact that evil undermines so much of what occurs in this world and the things that happen as a result of people’s decisions. What I am trying to say is that we cannot be quick to judge or speak down upon others. We cannot continue to assume we know what type of person they are or what motives they have had in a situation. We don’t ever know others fully. That is why we have to give them grace and room to prove us against their initial labels. And by giving them this grace, we develop forgiveness and acceptance in ourselves.
These “keys” are just some of the most influential pillars of how I choose to view the world and treat it with the most care I can give. It is completely different for every person in terms of how they choose to go about life and I know that I consider these keys some of the most important and useful for me because they are exactly that, relevant to me. They assist and build my personality and every person has a different set of keys that shape their own mindset! Although everyone has their own unique perspectives, I think that these three keys can be positively applied in many different situations. I also think that playing with others’ pillars like these can be beneficial for how we live and grow. Implementing different keys could open us up to new found opportunities, joys, and understanding. I hope that these or your own keys help you to navigate the world in the most impactful and beautiful way. :)
