This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
Let’s be clear — life punches us all in the face more often than we’d like, and most of the time we aren’t prepared for the punch. So many external situations and scenarios are completely out of our control that we can’t avoid getting hurt now and then. The most important thing is how we handle our reactions to life’s blows.
Life’s face punches are different for each one of us because, well, once again it comes down to perspective. What may be a hard situation for me may be a piece of cake for you, and so on. What is similar, however, is the pain associated with those moments when we get hit without any warning. If you go back and analyze the hardest moments in your life, those moments when you felt like life was a heavyweight boxer who punched you right on the nose, are you able to recreate the pain? I bet you are! Well, at least a little.
When I go back to the moment I had a miscarriage, I can still feel the pain in my heart. I can also feel some pain when I remember the time a guy held a gun to my head the entire time he robbed my house. I know these are extreme examples, but since everything is about perspective, I feel like they make my point better than more common situations. Granted, we don’t go through extreme situations every day, and we must be grateful for that. But clearly we do have daily challenges that can test our abilities to maintain a high level of inner peace.
I was in my lovely hot yoga class few days ago, and when we were about to finish the class, our beautiful teacher told us, “It doesn’t matter what happens today; make the commitment to be better, not bitter.” That phrase affixed itself to my brain. It sounds so simple and beautiful that I practiced the mantra for the entire day and made a commitment to myself to stay with it forever. That was how I became inspired to write my post today. This is such a beautiful practice that I feel like I need to share it with as many people as possible.
Now, of course it’s easy to be better when life is going well. When everything is going smoothly, it’s easy to keep being a good person and try to improve. However, self-improvement becomes a huge challenge if you feel like life is punching you in the nose. How can we get better instead of bitter when we are getting beat up by life?
Go back again in your mind to one of those moments when you were experiencing a tough situation. Did you react by being better, or did the situation wear and tear you down? Actually, the answer to this question doesn’t matter that much because we’re talking about the past, and we can’t change anything about that. A better question would be: are you going to be better next time life punches you in the nose, or will you let it win and make you bitter?
The reality is that life will always be there, right in the corner, waiting for us to get distracted so it can show us its best boxing abilities. Please don’t misunderstand me — I’m not being negative. Hardship is simply a reality. We’re always experiencing challenges in life because that’s the way we grow, which is why I’m writing this post today. I want you to know that even when the situation is hard and painful, you always have the option to choose your reaction. So, what would you choose: to be better or bitter? I vote for the beautiful mantra: “I choose to be better, not bitter.” I choose to learn from the experience and let it guide me to always be a good human. I choose to respect others even when they don’t respect me. I choose to go through the pain of life’s punches and let them teach me. I choose to keep my inner peace intact even when tornados are flying around trying to disturb it. I choose to react from a place of love and kindness no matter what. I choose to be my best version even when everyone else is not. I choose to be better, not bitter.
Well, it looks like I have created a long mantra to follow … and I love it! I plan to print it and read it every day so I can tattoo it in my heart. The world is so full of bitterness lately that I feel I need to help somehow. If you want to use my long mantra to help you be better and not bitter, please feel free! And share it too! We need more love in the world!
The choice is always ours, my friends! I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep repeating it as many times as it is needed. We can always choose how to react to life’s punches. Life will try to bring you down when it’s in punching mode, but remember that the only person with the ability to bring you down is you. If you don’t let it, it won’t happen. Be better, always!
Love,
Irene
