It Happened

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself, “How do I work this?”
And you may ask yourself, “Where is that large automobile?”
And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful house”
And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful wife” -Talking Heads, song “Once In A Lifetime”

“I can’t believe this happened.”

“Why did this happen to me?

“How could this have happened to me?”

“This shouldn’t have happened.”

“This isn’t right.”

“This is bullshit.”

“I’m so stupid.”

“They’re so stupid.”

“Life sucks.”

When something “bad” (The Stoics believe that “bad” or “good” are just subjective labels we put on the events in our lives.) and unexpected happens to you, it’s shocking at first. And you may find yourself thinking some or all of the above thoughts. It’s fine and perfectly normal. But none of it’s helpful.

Instead…

Assess (with clarity).

“This happened.”

Then…

Analyze

“What are my options?”

Then…

Decision.

“I’ll take this step forward”

Then…

Action.

Step forward.

Remember, mood follows action. Not the other way around.