“You have the power to choose how you react to your circumstances.”
The other day, I was playing basketball with a group of friends, when I noticed myself become increasingly frustrated with the opposing team.
Every shot the opposing team took, they made.
It seemed as if nothing could be done to stop them.
No matter how hard we played individually and as a team, their shots kept falling.
One game.
Two games.
Three games.
Four games in a row, we couldn’t stop them from scoring and winning.
I briefly glanced at my teammates after our fourth loss.
The look on their faces matched what I felt inside.
All, but one.
At first, I was in disbelief.
“How is he able to remain so calm?”
I turned and headed his way.
I was eager to know how he has been able to stay calm and not be frustrated.
Then, a thought stopped me dead in my tracks.
A reminder of a practice I’ve been practicing myself for years.
The type of practice with no end.
The power of how you choose to respond to your circumstances.
Three steps and a brief moment of awareness was all it took for me to experience the shift.
Three steps and a brief moment of awareness was all it took for me to regain the power within.
A smile reappeared on my face, as I returned back to my position for our fifth game.
As the game began, I felt a renewed sense of focus.
I felt a mindset shift.
Instead of focusing on our losses, I focused on what we could do better.
I became more observant of my teammates' movements and found ways to better support them.
By the end of the game, we had not only managed to stop the opposing team, but we had also won.
This experience taught me an important lesson - we all have the power to choose how we react to our circumstances.
We may not always be able to control what happens to us, but we can always control how we respond to it.
Don’t let your circumstances define you.
Choose to respond in a way that empowers you.
The power to choose is within you 🙌