Some time ago I was really down in the dumps after a messy break up with my girlfriend of 8 years. Yes, I know 8 years is a very long time. Anyways, soon after the break up my ex said something to me that has stuck with me until this day. It was a quote that someone had previously told her.

The quote was, “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you react”.

At the time I thought yeah, that’s true but really didn’t look too much into it. As time went on I began to think more about what she had said and the more I thought about it the more sense it made. I realised that life would be so much simpler if I just didn’t take things so seriously and look into things so much.

I had a new life objective, to try and see things for what they really are and not to make any more out of it.

Here’s an example. Say you’re driving to work and a car suddenly cuts in front of you forcing you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident. Ok, you could get totally pissed off, drive up to the other car and start cursing your head off. Your rage keeps you totally fired up for several hours affecting your mood for half the day. Now think about it for a moment and ask yourself, was that car cutting in front of you worth ruining your mood for half a day? The short answer is no.

On the other hand, you could have looked at it for what it really was. Probably just some guy in a hurry, saw a gap in the traffic and decided to squeeze in. They probably thought that they could get in without too much fuss anyway. And I’m sure they didn’t do it personally to upset you. So yeah, it wasn’t nice that they cut in front of you but at the end of the day your life isn’t going to change because of it so better to simply write it off as one of those unavoidable things in life.

See? Doesn’t that make more sense? Well, it does for me and thinking that way has certainly done wonders for my life. I hardly ever stress out and rarely waste my time dwelling on those insignificant things. It has given me so much more time to concentrate on the important things in life – Family, friends and having lots of fun!