The Two Basic Acts of Power

Happiness, for many of us, can seem elusive. Too often, our circumstances in life are at a departure from the way we really want our lives to be, and we feel helpless at times to change them. How can we possibly feel happy when things often seem so wrong?

When we base our sense of well-being exclusively on our circumstances, happiness becomes an elusive proposition at best. After all, how often are our circumstances exactly as we desire them to be?

Even if our circumstances largely ARE exactly as we desire them to be, in the course of a day, or a week, or a month, or a year, inevitably they won't be. We'll inevitably encounter conflict with the people we interact with. We'll find ourselves stuck in traffic and late for an appointment or stuck in a long, unmoving line. We will get caught in a rainstorm without an umbrella. We will get turned down for a job or a promotion. We'll lose a game we were trying to win.

There are many small things that inevitably "go wrong," and sometimes there are bigger ongoing things that seem to be significantly wrong with our lives. Maybe we can't find a life partner or have recently lost one. Maybe we are battling an illness. Maybe we have lost our job. Maybe we don't feel like we have any real purpose in life. Maybe we are struggling to lose weight. Maybe we feel like a failure. Maybe we are constantly broke.

In any case, since it is rare that ALL of the circumstances in our lives are ALWAYS precisely as we desire them to be, if we base our happiness and well-being exclusively on having our circumstances be just so, we may find happiness quite hard to come by and maintain.

Rather than basing our sense of well-being on our circumstances, a more reliable basis for happiness is our perspective. Our perspective is always under our control. Even if we cannot immediately change a particular circumstance, we always have the option of viewing it in a positive light.

For example, getting stuck in traffic or a line is an opportunity to practice patience. Losing a romantic partner is an opportunity to fully appreciate the presence of that person while opening up to new relationships. An illness is an opportunity to fully appreciate the gift of health and the fragility of life. Losing a job is an opportunity to make a change and begin a new, exciting career. Of course we would never intentionally seek out trying circumstances like these, but the fact is that in the course of our lives they DO arise. The question is whether we are going to succumb to these circumstances or make the most of them.

This Present Moment Here and Now is our One Moment of Experience. It is also our One Moment of Power, the one moment in which we can ever impact our lives in any way, shape, or form. As human beings, we have two basic ways in which we can utilize our Moment of Experience to exercise our Power as humans and experience well-being in This Moment.

1) We can adopt a positive perspective about our circumstances

2) We can take an action to change our circumstances

As human beings, these are our two basic "Acts of Power." We can simply adopt the perspective that our lives are just fine exactly as they are here and now. Or we can take an action to change something in our lives that we perceive to be NOT fine exactly as it is here and now.

These are the only two things we really have the power to do. We can take an action in This Moment to affect change in our lives. Or we can simply think about our lives in This Moment in a better light. These are the two basic Acts of Power that comprise our Personal Power Playbook.

We should note that these two Acts of Power are not mutually exclusive. It is certainly possible, and even desirable, to utilize BOTH Acts of Power. If, for instance, we play tennis and lose a match we wanted to win, we can adopt a positive perspective about the loss, and then also go practice our deficient areas in order to improve and win the next time we play.

If we get laid off from our job, we can adopt the perspective that this event is the opportunity to enjoy a new exciting career, and then also go and learn about some new field that we have an interest in.

If we step on the scale or look in the mirror and find ourselves overweight and out of shape, we can accept ourselves as we are here and now, and then also start eating healthier foods and exercising regularly.

Changing our perspective is the more immediate and reliable of the two basic Acts of Power. There may be times when we cannot immediately change our circumstances, but we can ALWAYS change our perspective. Ultimately, we experience happiness when we adopt a happy perspective, regardless of our circumstances. Therefore, in order to achieve a lasting sense of well being, it is important that we first recognize the two basic Acts of Power that we have at our disposal, and then begin learning how to utilize them effectively.