October 6, 2025- Define yourself

What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.

~Confucius

Everything we need is right here, within us. We need to have connections with others because we are social creatures, and those relationships will be formative, but they will shape us according to our own choices. What will we do with the lessons we learned from those relationships?

When another person does something generous or loving to us, there is no impact unless we accept that love. It wasn’t that person's act that changed us, it was our acceptance.

When someone does something harmful to us, it works the same way. We will be changed by our reaction, not by the act. That is not to suggest that it is the victim to be blamed when there is a physical or psychological injury. Rather, we have the agency and the power to move on from that injury.

Neither a lover nor a fighter have power over us unless we give that power to them. We are defined by our own choices, by our own actions and reactions. When we need change to happen, that change must come from within. If we are waiting for the universe to change us, all we will ever do is wait. Take all the power back in your life. Define yourself, one choice at a time.