The first step to freedom is admitting the problem is inside, not outside.
We're all trying to get our inner environment right, yet we walk around mistakingly trying to fix the outside world.
What goes on in our minds is what determines the quality of our life, not what goes on around us. To go a step further, our relationship with everything going on in our mind is what determines the quality of our life.
But we don't live like this. Instead, we blame our unhappiness on other people, places, and things.
Sure, you hate your job. Sure, you don't have enough money. Sure, your life is filled with challenge. To sum it up, you don't have what you want, and you have what you don't want. Fine. Welcome to the club.
To free yourself of this mess, you must acknowledge that the problem isn't the job, the lack of money, or the challenges. The problem is what your mind is telling you about all of those things.
So just admit it. Start living from a place of understanding that your mind is a dangerous place. You don't have to fix it right away, all at once. But please, for yourself, for others, admit that your mind is the issue and not the outside world.
Once you come to accept and admit this truth, you can start to work with your mind.
Something will happen that will trigger you, and instead of immediately getting worked up and spiraling out of control, you'll pause and remember that the problem isn't what happened out there, but rather, what your mind is saying in here. And then you work with your thoughts.
By admitting this, you'll be ever so slightly less reactive than you would've been had you tried to control whatever was happening around you.
Over time you'll try less and less to manipulate the outside world, where your sliver of control is miniscule. Rather than fighting with the forces of the universe, you'll learn to work with your inner state, because you'll finally admit that's where the problem lies, not outside.
Live with substance!
Gabe Orlowitz
