The Root Cause of Our Problems

So often I think that if _____ changed, then things would be so much better.

Sometimes the _____ is a person and sometimes a situation.

Can you relate?

You can fill in the blank however you want – 

  • Husband
  • Kids
  • Boss
  • Friend
  • Parents
  • Neighbors
  • Weather
  • Bank balance
  • School
  • Work
  • COVID
  • Government 
  • The past
  • Etc., etc. 

The problem with my simple equation that would solve all of the problems is that all of the above are circumstances, outside of myself, and outside of my control.

Womp, womp.

The reality is that I have no control over any person, any situation outside of myself, or anything that happened in the past. 

None of us do.

No matter how hard we try.

Trust me – I wish it weren’t so, so often. 

But arguing with reality never gets us anywhere – it just layers a lot of negative emotion on top of an existing situation. 

So much better to focus on what we do control.

We can control:

  • Our thoughts about our circumstances
  • Our feelings (because they come from our thoughts)
  • Our actions (because they are fueled by our feelings arising from our thoughts)

We can’t change or control other people or situations, but we can change and control our thoughts about them. 

The root cause of all our problems is always what we’re thinking. 

Our thoughts create our feelings, which fuel our actions, which lead to our results. 

The first step in getting control over our thoughts and turning things around is learning the difference between what’s a circumstance (outside of our control) and what’s a thought (inside our control).

Circumstances are:

  • Court-of-law factual
  • Devoid of emotion or descriptive adjectives
  • Everyone would agree on them, even in other cultures. 

Thoughts are:

  • Subjective
  • Descriptive
  • Change from person to person, culture to culture.

Let me share some examples:

  • Weather:
    • It’s hot out = Thought
    • It’s 90 degrees = Circumstance

If you live in Death Valley, you’re not going to be thinking 90 degrees is a hot day.

  • Kids:
    • My son is 20 = Circumstance
    • My 20-year old son no longer needs me = Thought
  • Work:
    • It’s challenging for 40-year-old women to re-enter the workforce = Thought
    • I’m 40 years old = Circumstance

The second step, after separating your thoughts from the factual circumstances, is to ask yourself, “Is there another way to see this?”

Challenge your brain to come up with a different perspective.

And that shift in perspective can make all the difference in how you’re experiencing the situation. 

Blessings,

jennysig

Meet Jenny

As a mom of 5 young adults, I’ve navigated the changing waters of my kids getting older, and I’m here to guide you through and teach you the skills and tools you need to not just survive but thrive.

What type of thriving mom are you?

Work With Me

 Create a life you love now and in your next chapter.

Ready to find out what kind of thriving mom you are?

 It’s incredibly easy as a mom to always put others first – your husband, your kids, parents and in-laws, your boss, your friends… the list of people we care about and the things we need to get done each day goes on and on.

When we’ve been at the mom thing for a while, we often lose track of who we are, what we actually liked before “Mom” was added to the many hats we wear as women – we often forget what actually made us light up, pre-kids.

It’s time to get back in touch and start truly thriving.

This website uses cookies

We use cookies to personalize content and ads and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services.