“It is not what is occurring in our lives that affects our behavior; it is what we believe about what is occurring that matters.”

A thought by David Stoop from his book, You Are What You Think (Kindle Location 295). Kindle Edition.

To one person something happens to them and they see it as a bad thing therefore it makes them mad or discouraged.  They make everybody around them miserable.  But the same thing can happen to another person and they see it from a total different standpoint.  That means their behavior makes everyone happy to be around them.

How is your life going?  It depends upon your belief system.  Some believe that our world is falling apart because the Democrats are in power.  Others believe that everything is great because the Democrats are in power?  Which is right?  Both of them are right because of the person's belief system.  And because of our belief it affects our behavior.

Our perspective on what is happening and why it is happening goes along way in how we view life and in turn our behavior. 

Take for example that you believe that life isn’t fair and that you have been dealt a rotten hand.  Nothing good ever happens to you.  You live with a victim complex and you never make that extra effort to make things work because what is the use.  Your belief affects your behavior in life.  You may have as much ability as the next person but you never develop it because you believe it wouldn’t make any difference if you tried.

But what if you live in an impoverished area and no one in your family has ever finished high school let alone gone to college but you believe that you are going to make a difference and you set out to not make your situation an excuse but a challenge.   You study, you find a person who is an encourager, you give your full effort to finish high school then you go off to college.  Your belief not your circumstance drives you to succeed.  Your life is not an excuse but an opportunity.

Now life is tough.  It really is but your belief system affects your behavior and how you handle those tough times that we all have. 

So how's your life going?