The Role We Play in Our Suffering
- SolitaryThoughtz
- Aug 10, 2021
- 2 min read
There is no shortage of suffering in this world. Some of the things are truly out of our control, at least in the current moment, because of being subject government/corporate control and overreach or our reliance on money and slave labor among other things. A lot of our suffering, however is well within our control, all we need to do is realize it. Below are some ways we play a role in our own suffering. It’s not an all-inclusive list, but just some ways I see things and hopefully they’ll cause you to think of other ways we add to our own suffering.
Overthinking
In our minds we create situations that sometime never come to fruition. These situations bring us can bring us stress because we have a tendency to imagine the worse possible scenario. It’s best to keep things in perspective and also to realize that our imagination can cause us great stress if we don’t exercise control over it. Sometimes it’s best to just let things be what they are and to take a stoic approach to life if for no other reason, to place our minds at ease.
Wasting Energy
We have a tendency to give our energy away like Halloween candy to anything and anybody that crosses our path. Media narratives and stories are a great example of this. The media exists, among other reasons, to agitate and emotionally disturb its viewership. We don’t need to address every situation as it arises and if we exercise patience, we’ll see that many of these situations dissolve into nothing. An understanding of this can be great relief to us. Cool detachment from situations that at the end of the day do not concern us and has little effect on our lives is necessary in a world that is actively trying to disturb your spirit.
Ignoring Triggers
Triggers are any topics that trigger an automatic negative emotional response. When we don’t address them we leave ourselves subject to their power over us. Avoiding triggers is one way people deal with them, but we should take it a step further. Avoiding triggers is like conventional medicine, it only masks the issue, but doesn’t not address the underlying problem. Whatever triggers you has control over you so it’s best to face them and figure out why you have such a response. When you do this you shift the paradigm from triggers controlling you to you controlling them.
Victim Mentality
Adopting a victim mentality robs us of the ability to affect change in our own lives. This perceived loss of control has the ability to cause distress. If we see things as happening to us we may absolve ourselves of the responsibility to do something about it. As a result, we become powerless and habitual powerlessness sends us into an infantile state of mind. Accepting our role in the suffering we feel empowers us to make change. Remembering that we are not passive observers of life, but rather active participants in it subverts a victim mentality and allows us to move toward creating the life we desire.
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