Circumstances

Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him."
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

What do your circumstances reveal about you? We tend to beleive that we are controled by our circumstances, instead of beleiving that we, in fact, control them to a large extent. And even when we don't control them, we can change the outcome by changing the way we react to them. We beleive that circumstances make the man, that he is who he is because of the circumstances he finds around him.

Your circumstances are typically the result of your thoughts. Therefore, to a large extent, they reveal what you have been thinking. If your life is impoverished, that is because you have been thinking impoverished thoughts. You have been expecting to not get much, and so you take the kind of actions that will lead to your poverty. If there is violence in your life, it is because you have been thinking violent thoughts, which make you do things that lead to violence. But you can always change the thoughts you have. Let your circumstances reveal that you've been thinking about good things.

A person's character is revealed by the way he reacts to circumstances. Some people react to winning by going around and boasting about how great they are. Others appreciate that it's only a game and next time someone else may win. They may even console the loser by reassuring him that he played a good game and maybe will win next time. Some people react to unfortunate circumstances by assuming the world is out to get them, and look around for someone to blame. Others look for the opportunity and the lesson in those difficulties.

A wise person understands that success isn't permanent and failure isn't fatal. They also understand that they can control a large part of their circumstances by expecting things to be good. And even when things don't turn out to be the way they wanted, they look for the lesson and the gift in their problems.