We all have a story that we carry about ourselves. Most of us are unaware of the story, but it is affecting the way that we interact with others. With most of us, there is a part of the story that is about us not being enough in some capacity--not smart enough, not deserving enough, not cute enough, not ambitious enough, etc. It's usually a seed that was unintentionally planted by one or both of our parents. If the story remains dormant and unhealed, it will fester and influence the way that we see and respond to the world.

Here is what usually happens: When a person's response or reaction to us is aligned with that story that we are carrying (either in assumption or truth), it energizes the sponsoring thought embedded in that story. See: I am not smart enough! See: I am not attractive enough! Naturally, this reminder doesn't make us feel good. So, most of us surrender to the negative emotion. Once we do that, we deepen the power of that emotion and as a result, attract more circumstances—more evidence that validates what we now believe. It then becomes a cycle: experience elicits emotion, emotion elicits experience; experience elicits emotion and so on. Eventually, that story that we have about ourselves becomes truth.

In order to break the pattern, you have to accept what I believe is a philosophical truth: everything that happens to you, happens for you, should you allow it. You are always on your way to something wonderful, even when you are not enjoying where you are. There is always something good if you will allow yourself to live it. So, you can look beyond what you are not enjoying in the moment and appreciate all that is good in your life, including what you are not enjoying, realizing (or deciding if you would prefer to look at it that way) that more that you do enjoy is already on the way. 

This is where our true power lies: we have the power to direct our thoughts, words and attention to that which we appreciate, that which we want and that which we will have. By doing this, we actually diminish the power of the old story because we are no longer creating the evidence to support it. We write a new story and, as if by some mystical magic, little by little, we create a different, more enjoyable experience.

People are happy because they choose to be happy. I choose to be happy. By directing my attention to all that I appreciate in my present experience, I feel joy; because I feel joy, I create more joy in my life which inspires me to feel more joy. 

It sounds much simpler than it is in application. It requires an unyielding discipline and the ability to surrender any sense of victimization, no matter how much evidence exists to support it (if you're like most of us, your ego is probably already arguing the possibility--but, what about this...I have a reason to feel <insert negative emotion>. It's not about that. Life is not about what happens to you. It is about how you respond to it.

Success or sabotage? You stop sabotaging your success when you realize that the concept of sabotage is rhetorical. There is no sabotage out there. The only sabotage is your own, when you forget who you are and surrender your power in any circumstance.

Is this going to be an incredible day? The choice is always within your power.