Much of the daily stress is based on the belief that things must go a certain way. We are very concrete in our beliefs and practices. We want things to happen in a very specific way – a way we might control. It gives us security.

We learned to react based on our own invincible pressure. We strongly believe in our way. We are guided by fear and formed by experience. Even controlling our emotional state can be another control mechanism, a pattern that we have trained ourselves to follow. It won’t make our decision more rational. It’s just another way to fool ourselves. The rationale is: if our body and mind is centered for the moment of the decision making, the decision will be right. True? Isn’t the question of why more interesting?

One way to answer the why is, that it’s all about our egos. Which is the reason we want to succeed in a very specific way. How we succeed is an important part of the story we tell ourselves and others. The story of who we are. A story that we write and interpret ourselves. It’s our search for meaning.

Likely, nothing will ever change, and that’s okay. We will always have our 100% individual view on this world and we need the awareness for that. When we are mindful of our state, about what we might know and what we do not know, we can also maybe accept that things will never be perfect. We can learn, become better and reach mastery in some disciplines over time. Mastery comes by failure. So accepting failure is the first step to mastery. 

Prepare when you need to. Learn as much as you need. Do what you need to do to reach happiness in this world. Do one step after another. You will fail, but you will learn. Forget what you believe, challenge the status quo and learn something new. Stay open-minded and allow yourself to go through a process of permanent renewal. Step out and look at your life with some distance. Watch your behavior. Watch your emotional reactions. Watch your body reactions. When you stay calm and reach a state of mindfulness, you will get the awareness of both. Over time, you will become more conscious of your emotional state and understand the reason why. Probably the best way to experience a harmonious interaction between our very individual self and the outer world. 

Consider meditating or doing a similar practice if this is important to you.

Thanks for reading and sharing!
Stefan