everything happens for a reason, and adopting this perspective will change your life
Although the saying is cliche and often overused, it’s true: everything does happen for a reason.
Whether it’s actually true, and some divine power has an individual plan for each and every one of us, or it’s simply a reiterated perspective shift to grant humans a sense of control as we navigate the seemingly uncontrollable: I choose to wholeheartedly believe it.
Because even if it is “made-up,” and we truly are aimlessly navigating the incomprehensible chaos around us, I’d prefer to navigate it with the faith and knowledge that even the bad experiences, the heartbreak and the pain is worth something in the long-run.
Because ultimately, we have control over our perspectives and our thoughts, as well as how we combat and decide to react to these aspects of life.
In the past, when something bad would happen to me – whether it was in my various relationships, academically, or otherwise – my brain would automatically loop into perpetual self-doubt and helplessness. But now, I tell myself that although I don’t see why it’s important now, I will later.
I look back on some of life's most major twists and turns – the gut wrenching ones that left me questioning almost everything – and I’m always able to see why it occurred, how it has helped shape me into who I am now, as well as the significance of it in a positive light.
Even if it seems impossible in the moment.
The bridges that have been burned, any disrespect I’ve endured, the difficulties and all the in-between moments are like pieces of colorful cloth in the tapestry that composes my life, and only makes it more beautiful.
I’m grateful for everything I’ve lost – just as much as I am for the people I’ve gained and kept. Somebody’s absence has always shown me parts of myself I need to heal, or work on. If I fail in some other facet of my life, it only motivates me to work harder in another.
The truth is, hardship and difficulty shapes people into who they are more than anything else does.
If you were playing a video game and attempting to create the wisest, most understanding and strongest character you possibly could – you’d force them to endure things. You almost never learn through success, and if you do, the lessons aren’t nearly as valuable as what you glean from failure.
This is what leads me to the perspective shift: the fact that everything, even the things you struggle to accept and overcome, happen for a reason.
This ideal has given me so much peace, and although it’s difficult to adopt, I genuinely believe it’s the only way to live.
Because life is so short, and if you spend the limited time you do have concerning yourself with the outcomes of situations and experiences you have no control over, you won’t be able to fully appreciate where you are and find the fulfillment and magnitude of how incredible it is to be alive.
Adopting this perspective has also made me generally happier, because it’s allowed me to be much more grateful for the joy I am lucky enough to experience daily. I feel like I’m able to consistently look for the good rather than focus on the bad – because even when the bad does inevitably arise, I interpret it in terms of what's necessary for me and my unique path.
