When something bad happens or we get to a place in our lives where we feel stuck, we often ask why it’s happening and what we’re supposed to do next.

How can we become more empowered? How can we create what we want in the next phase of our lives? 

Asking why is a crucial step to understanding where we have landed and how we can move forward. But we need to be cautious. Not all ‘why’s’ are created equal. There’s a good “why” and a bad “why.”

The bad “why” closes our eyes and leads us deeper into the mud, muck, and mire. The good “why” opens our eyes wider, leading us closer to wisdom, insight, and a more creative future.

So what differentiates the good from the bad? The bad “why” casts us in a victim role and positions us as bugs underneath the foot of life. The good “why” puts us in the role of a learner and positions us as disciples sitting at the feet of life.

This four-minute video offers a powerful, immediate way to shift our mindset from bad to good:

Reflection and Application:

1. Identify a situation, relationship, or condition that currently has you in the mud, muck, and mire.

2. Change your perspective from “this is happening to me” to “this is happening for me” and complete the following sentences:

This situation/relationship/condition is:

Supporting me to focus on…

Reminding me to let go of…

Inviting me to courageously…

Calling me to compassionately…

Prompting me to develop greater…

Urging me to risk…

Teaching me that…

3. Take a few centering breaths and read the above sentences out loud. Listen and allow the meaning of the words to enter your heart and mind.

4. Note what insights came to you and share them in the comments below.

Love & Shanti

~

Author: Eric Klein 
Image: Seth Doyle/Unsplash
Editor: Brooke Breazeale
Copy Editor: Callie Rushton