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Cause or Effect?

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Cause or Effect?

A father and his son were walking in the mountains. Along a steep part of the trail, the boy tripped and fell. He screamed, "Ahhhhhh!" To his surprise, he heard this same sound repeated in the mountains. Curious, the boy shouts, "Who are you?" He receives the answer, "Who are you?"

Angered by the mirrored response, the boy yells, "Coward!" He receives the answer, "Coward!" Confused, he leans over to his dad and whispers, "What's going on?"

The father replies, "Pay attention son." He then shouts, "I admire you." The voice answers, "I admire you." Again the father yells, "You're a champion!" He receives the answer, "You're a champion."

The boy is surprised, but still doesn't fully understand. Then the father explains, "This is often referred to as an echo, but it also represents how life works. In other words, life tends to return what you express through your thoughts, words, and actions."

Life is not a series of disjointed coincidences; it's a reflection of what we have been "putting out" to the world. The old adage, in this instance, makes perfect sense: Our thoughts determine our actions, our actions determine our habits, our habits determine our character, and our character determines our destiny. If this is the case, however, we must be careful about what goes on internally before it manifests externally.

Essentially, we need to think about what we're thinking about. Many of us have developed habitual thoughts which are intentionally or unintentionally directing our lives. When we become consciously aware of the types of questions we ask ourselves continuously and how we respond to them, we may begin to learn more about our current circumstances.

We may not be exactly where we want to be in life at this moment, but we can change our direction the moment we change the ongoing course of our mentality. Remember, challenges in life are inevitable, but the outcome is not. We can choose to get bitter or get better; be a victim or a victor. As you're well aware, it's not what happens to us that matters, it's how we react to what happens to us. Our reaction always begins with, you guessed it, a single thought--and this process then becomes a cause set in motion.

A negative mentality is the worst handicap of all, but because we have the ability to control our thoughts we are by default, the maker and creator of our destiny.

We're either the creature of circumstance or the creator of circumstance. . . It's completely up to you.

Much success to you,

- Kent Healy

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