The doorway into an empowering perspective is breaking down what are Pure Facts and what is Your Story.

The difference between the pure facts of life events and the story that we tell about the event is a mental revolution of its own.

Understanding the difference can change the way you look at the world and the lense in which you look at your life.

It is the first major step in owning and being in control of your emotions.

Let’s break it down.

Story Time:

The world is currently experiencing a global pandemic.

Pure Fact.

Now different places have different restrictions, due to locally made decisions.

Also, Pure Fact.

I am currently in Spain where the restrictions are quite high. Police are circulating and giving fines, upwards of 30,000 EU. Neighbors are calling the police. The pandemic situation is quite intense here.

This is my story.

Because I use the word high and intense my story goes from a pure fact to a subjective opinion.

Intense is an opinion that creates an emotion for me.

High is an adverb, a describing word, which is relative, leaning on subjective.

I feel stressed when I think about ‘how intense the pandemic is’.

I can also think, ‘we are so lucky that our travels got stopped in Spain while we were visiting a friend in a small village, we have a place to stay and are relatively safe.’

When I tell this story and think this thought, I feel relieved.

Same pandemic, different thought.

Different story, different feeling.

The point of this exercise is to understand that the pandemic does not cause my intense or relieved feeling, but rather the cause of my feeling is my story about the event.

Try this Empowering Perspective for your self.

• Notice what emotion you are having now.

• Ask your self, “Why do I feel this way?”

• The answer will come to you in the form of a thought.

Zoom Out: Why does this perspective matter?

You, (and me), feel powerless in life when you think that the pure facts are the cause of feelings (especially the negative ones).

Pure facts, past events, global pandemics, and other people are all things that you do not have any control over.

What you do have control over is your story, your thoughts.

Looking at the world and learning how to own your thoughts will empower you to understand that you have control over how you feel because you can choose the way that you tell the story about the pure fact.

You can choose your thoughts.

Mind-bendy, right?

Stick with me…

None of my meditation teachers ever taught me this…. but it is the secret to your inner universe.

Thinking that the pandemic is intense does not serve me.

I still have this thought from time to time.

I notice it.

And then I choose to let it go and move on.

I choose to focus on what I do have control over now, which is my thoughts, and is not the pandemic.

What stories are you telling?

How do you feel when you tell that story?

Is it serving you?

What story do you want to tell?

Some friends of mine are enjoying the time at home, pandemic imposed, because of the thoughts they are having.

“I get to spend time at home”.

With love,