Day #110 in A Year of Positivity

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”—Stephen R. Covey

Hello, and welcome back to my blog. Today’s quote takes us in a new direction. This quote by Stephen R. Covey resonated with me, so I thought it would make a perfect quote for Day #110 in A Year of Positivity. “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”

There are countless directions our lives can take. However, one direction we should never take is turning back and staying in our past. It’s one thing if you compare better yourself now to your former self if you want an extra boost of motivation to keep pushing forward, or if you’re going to take a lesson from a past mistake or situation to move forward, but dwelling on the past and staying in it won’t do you any favors.

In fact, if you remain in your past, keep count of everything that’s ever gone wrong in your life, and just wallow in self-pity, you’re actually hindering yourself from so many beautiful blessings, and you’re also blocking your ability to create and have a better life.

Not a single person on this planet has control of the things that happen in their lives, or how others treat them. However, the one thing we all have complete control over is how we react to other people and how we react to the events taking place in our lives. We have a responsibility to ourselves to take ownership of these actions and reactions that we put out towards others and the situations that are stumbling blocks for us.

Take my father’s passing as an example. I was born and raised without him in my life. I had zero control in that matter. It was a card that life simply handed to me. Thanks to the decision of taking the Ancestry test, though, I’d found a relative, an aunt, who connected me to her brother, my father. I had an amazing three years with him until cancer took him out. How is this fair? It’s not fair at all.

I had so many people telling me what a blessing it was to have met him three years ago, and that it was a blessing to have that time to form a special bond with him. I quickly turned annoyed with everyone telling me this. I’d look at my siblings and wonder why they got to grow up with him in their childhoods while I’d been the one who grew up fatherless. What were my three years with him compared to the many years they had with him? Simply put, I felt cheated.

Instead of staying and stewing in the bitterness, I gave it to God. I let God take complete control of all my sorrow and bitterness. God blankets me through the Holy Spirit with His comfort, kindness, mercy, and unfailing love. I can look back on the situation with my dad and, even though I’m still missing him, I’m in a much better place, in so much better spirits, than I was before.

I can look back on my memories and deep conversations with true peace and appreciation. Even though I miss him terribly, I know where he is, and I know he’s in peace, and I know that someday soon I’ll see him again. I chose hope and joy with a sincere appreciation of everything and everyone around me, along with every breath I breathe, and I’m a better person for it, and this decision I made will help me along the path to making other better decisions.

I am not a product of my circumstances.
I’m a product of the decisions I make.
And so are you.