Two families moved to the same small town. The first family drove into town and spoke with the attendant at the gas station. The family asked the attendant, “we just moved here, is this a good town to live in?” The attendant responded “well, tell me about the town you just moved out of.” The family gushed about their old town, “oh, we loved it….the summers were warm, the people never bothered each other and there was always something to do.” The attendant exclaimed, “oh, then you’ll love this town!” And he was right. Although the new town was the polar-opposite of their beloved old town, the first family marveled at the beauty of the snowy winters, the close-knitted townspeople and the quiet pace.
The second family also drove into the same gas station and asked the attendant the same question. The attendant responded with the same statement, “well, tell me about your old town.” The second family bellowed, “it was terrible…we never had winters, the people were rude and unfriendly and there was always so much ruckus on every street corner.” The attendant responded, “oh, well you’ll really hate this town too.” And sure enough, even though the new town was very different than their dreaded old town, after settling in, the second family found that they hated the new town too – there were never any summers, the people were small-minded and gossiped constantly and there was never anything to do.
Both stated accurate facts about their old and new towns. Yet, which facts they chose to share revealed whether or not they would be happy or unhappy with their lives.
People often say “I’m just stating the facts” as if to say they are being completely objective about their opinions or situation. However, the “fact” that you choose to share in itself indicates a very unobjective point of view.
For instance, you can say you are broke because you only have $10 to your name and your air conditioner is broken and you only have 3 boxed dinners in your pantry to last you two weeks. All are facts. And these facts would indicate that yes, you are in fact broke.
However, you could also state that you have $10 leftover and your heat is working great and you have more food than you could eat in an entire day. These are also facts. And these facts would indicate that you are not destitute. These facts insinuate that you are rather blessed.
What “facts” you choose to think about and state are a good indication of how you will view your life and your situation. Your point of view is strong enough to determine whether or not you are constantly blessed or constantly cursed.
This doesn’t just apply to the facts about your condition of living, but also the facts about the people in your life or the facts about a particular situation:
Two people could have the exact same situation and one could say they are blessed and energized and the other feel that they are cursed and constantly burdened.
Two people could have spouses with the exact same personality traits. One person says their spouse is controlling, nit picky and boring. The other person says their spouse is a leader, detailed and stable.
The facts of your circumstances are not as important as which facts you choose. No one can choose your facts for you. Your circumstances could change entirely, but if you constantly choose the wrong facts to notice, you’ll always feel the same way about the state of your existence or situation.
You, and only you, can decide which life you live. Choose your facts accordingly.
