Are you letting the moods of others control you?

It’s far too easy to get pulled off course, I think.  The myriad moods of the many people we encounter on a daily basis, if allowed to control how we feel in the moment, will keep us unsettled and unfulfilled for most of the day.  It’s no fun to live in this kind of turmoil. But the habit is hard to break.

For many, it begins in childhood.  Perhaps a very demanding parent prevented you from having an identity that was separate, in some respects, from the family.  What dad believed, every one had to believe. Or you had a teacher or a boss that belittled you for your “imagined” inadequacies.

What we seldom knew, then, was that how others treated us was a reflection of how they felt about themselves.  It didn’t define us.  That is, unless we let it define us. It’s never too late to be fully in charge of our own moods, our own behavior, our own attitudes, our own goals for the future.  And the empowerment we feel when we do step up to the plate is beyond explanation.

We will never feel the same, or even look the same, once we take control of our own course, our own direction in life.  If this seems farfetched, try it.  You will feel the inner excitement the first time you walk away from some one else’s definition of you.  This will be the “carrot” that invites you to walk away again and again.