Sometimes family presents us with incredible joy and sometimes we just feel stuck and in pain. Do you have a marriage situation you just can’t get out of, or are you nursing a child through an illness you just can’t beat? No one enjoys feeling stuck in life.

I remember sharing a video about a woman who lost her legs to a sudden disease. Stories like that, where a person comes through and has an amazing life, in spite of circumstances can be inspiring, but what about our own situations? – Less extreme? Perhaps, but just as challenging and possibly even more painful to live with.

 

In this Video:

00:21 – When You Just Can’t Change the Circumstances
01:11 – Using Reframing on the Other Side of the Coin
01:40 – “The Good Wife” Star With Parkinson’s Disease
03:09 – The Key To Acceptance (not resignation)
03:45 – A Guided Meditation (Release Technique)
05:47 – Quote from Michael J. Fox
05:58 – Affirmation to Help You Through Your Problems

Listen To The Audio:

[powerpress]

Watch The Video:

Transcription:

When You Just Can’t Change the Circumstances

A dear friend of mine is going through a very difficult situation. It is a situation that she really can do nothing about.

I know that a lot of people are faced with this problem.

In her case it is a family problem. She has to be there and she has to handle it. She can’t move away from it. She can’t get away from it, she has to face it.

A lot of people they are looking for change, they want to do something different or move or get a different job but we do have some situations when we can’t move, can’t make a change. We can’t change the circumstances that we are in and we have to go through them.

[shareable cite=”Abe Stone”]Stuck and change is impossible? Don’t resign yourself to it. Make it through with acceptance.[/shareable]

Now, a lot of people are faced with this situation and many people just sort of get discouraged, they let it get them down. They don’t fight it, they don’t accept it, they don’t do anything, they just sort of resign themselves to it.

Now, there is a key to making it through these difficult situations.

I talked about reframing in another video. In that sense reframing is was dealing with trying to find solutions, trying to find new angles, to work through a situation.

Well, sometimes reframing is simply about changing the mind so that we accept and we are at peace with the situation.

We are not stressed by it. We are not struggling. We are not fighting it. (Read The Power of Now)

You may have heard me say before:

[shareable cite=”C. Jung”]What we resist, persists. [/shareable]

Well, if you want to let go of that stress and you want that situation to not have that negative impact in your life, one simple thing that you can do is learn to accept it. I am not talking about resigning yourself to it or just giving up but learning to be at peace with it.

“The Good Wife” Star with Parkinson’s Disease

A great example of this is the actor, Michael J. Fox, I don’t know if you know him but he was a childhood hero of mine in Back To The Future they did a whole trilogy, on time travel.

It was really fun, he was an underdog and he sort of ended up coming through these situations and circumstances and being a hero. He was my hero for a long time.

You may be familiar to his situation, he has Parkinson’s disease.

In most cases for many people, Parkinson’s disease is very debilitating, it just takes them completely out of their realm of goals and dreams, whatever their career was. It tends to ruin a lot of people’s lives.

In his case, he decided not to let that happen. He decided to go through it, and still continue doing what he loves, which is acting.

You may have seen him in the very popular tv series, The Good Wife. He continues to this day to act in that and he does a good job.

We still see him with his problems, he takes medication that helps to control the symptoms but he’s there doing what he loves and living his life fully as best as he can, in spite of his circumstances.

An that is what I mean by acceptance.

You may wonder, “What can I do when I am stressed? When I am struggling? When I am dealing with the problem or my thoughts or worries. I feel guilt about what I have done, the poor decisions that I’ve made. How can this happen?” Whatever the case is.

The Key To Acceptance

I have one key for you that will help you to reach that state of acceptance sooner and put you in a position of power so that you can live in that situation to the best of that ability. Here it is.

And it is simply taking time to be in the moment, to be present.

Once you are really good at this, all you have to do is just close your eyes, take one deep breath and you say the word “release” and just let go of the thoughts and the worries or the remorse and regrets, that you couldn’t be somewhere or do something because you are stuck in a situation.

Until you get that habit working well, here is what you can do to build that habit.

A Guided Meditation (Release Technique)

I would suggest getting away in the quiet.

Go to the bathroom or go outside or whatever you can do to get away from the situation that is stressing you for a moment and do this simple exercise.

  1. Take a deep breath, counting to three. Then breathe out, counting down from three.
  2. Close your eyes. Breathe in and breathe out.
  3. When you feel relaxed and your body’s relaxed, just say the word, “Release.” Breathe in and breathe out.
  4. Let go of the thoughts, the thoughts of the past. When thoughts of self pity or  whatever it is that is in your mind, just say, “Release.”
  5. Maybe you’re worrying about the future. “What about this, what about that? What will I do here? How long can I take this?” Just release.
  6. When you are in that calm state, just relax, listen to your breath, listen to you voice. Let it all go
  7. When you need to come back, just count up again, “One, two, three.”
  8. Open your eyes.

You see? It was a really simple and easy way to become present, to let go of your thoughts, to be in that state of power, that’s going to give you the ability to work through the situation, to go through whatever you have to do in a state of acceptance and peace. (Read The Power of Now)

It really works, you should try it.


Okay now, here’s your quote and it is from Michael J. Fox. I see it fitting to give you a quote from Michael J. Fox, because he is someone who has really experienced this.

He knows what it is to be in that state of acceptance, and to see it move his life forward, to be in that place where he is still living his dream in spite the circumstances that he is in.

[shareable cite=”Michael J. Fox”]Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.[/shareable]

The affirmation for today is:

[shareable cite=”Abe Stone”]I accept and release everything in my life that is beyond my power to change. #affirmation[/shareable]