Playing the Victim

How many of you know someone (if it’s not yourself), who somehow, someway always seems to be the “victim”?

Do you ever stop to wonder how it’s possible that all these “terrible” things keep happening to them? Are you frustrated by their “why me” attitude?

Well, you’re not alone.Few things are as frustrating as watching those you care about play the victim.It’s a terrible, seemingly endless cycle of depression and misery; and as you know, misery sure as hell loves company – company that us positive folks try so desperately not to give. But what is it that makes them feel so victimized?

Perspective.

That’s really what it comes down to.Everyone has problems they have to deal with at some point or another, if not everyday. But it’s your perspective on these so called “problems” and your understanding of how much of it you can control, that makes all the difference between a happy uplifting person, and a somber why-me type of character. And if you find yourself on the jaded side of things, there’s a lot you can do to change this.

It all starts with your attitude.

How you choose to look at the circumstances in your life, will determine how much they take hold of you. We so often get consumed in our insular bubble of problems, most of which exist only in our minds, that it becomes impossible to see how little these issues actually matter, and how little they actually truly exist.Imagine you could travel to outer space (and you can), only to look back on this tiny planet of ours, where all of our problems follow – talk about looking at things from another perspective.

You don’t always have control over what happens, but you ALWAYS have control over how things affects you.

Don’t let meaningless, petty problems eat at your spirit. And understand that when tragedies occur, yes there is much pain and sorrow, but on the other side, there’s opportunity for growth and self-improvement.

Always choose to see the light.

The next thing you can do, is determine what aspects of your life you can change, so that you don’t have to remain in whatever negative situation(s) that keeps you feeling so bad for yourself.

I love this line from Arianna Huffington’s book, Thrive, where she quotes her mother saying, “Darling, just change the channel. You are in control of the clicker. Don’t replay the bad, scary movie.”

It’s often that simple.

Examine how you have contributed to your problems, and determine the steps to walk away.

And in order to make changes, we need to tap into our creativity.People who live with wonder, and who appreciate the beauty around them are said to have more creative minds and are therefore able to come up with creative solutions to any “problem” or situation.

If you stay inside your head, crying and lamenting over everything that happens, how will you ever see the opportunities around you to create change?

Start being positive.

Yes, just start. It’s something you can practice…little by little, everyday. The more you become a positive being, the less things will get to you, and the more energy you’ll conserve for the real challenges that come your way.

And it just so happens, that the more positive you are, the less you see things as being problems…and therefore, the less problems you have.

Simplified or not, you can choose happiness or you can choose to be a victim...which one’s it going to be?

Peace, love and no more playing the victim,

Diana