I "Have" To vs I "Get" To

I read an interesting Facebook post yesterday. To paraphrase it, it said something about life and perception and how we needed to look at things in our lives as "I get to" instead of "I have to." Then a friend commented that maybe that is why adults lose their passion about things, because as kids, we see everything as an "I get to," but as adults when the realities of the world sneak in and we have to adult everyday, our passion gets lost in the day to day responsibilities of "I have to." 

Have you ever noticed that the really truly happy people in the world live in what seems to be an almost child-like state of freedom? It is as if everything they do is joyful and exciting for them. To the rest of the world this attitude can be viewed as silly, unrealistic and down right irritating, but I am beginning to realize that this is an "us" problem and not a "them" problem. I really think that maybe they are doing it right because they are still viewing life as "I get to." They are going after their dreams and living their passions each and everyday and they are no doubt grateful for the opportunity to do so. They are not merely seeing the world through rose colored glasses, but perhaps they are seeing the world as it was meant to be seen. I truly believe that the negativity and feeling of "I have to" is man made and man is his own worst enemy.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying throw your hands up to the sky and say, "That's it. I'm done adulting for the rest of my life." What I am saying though is that maybe if we looked at our lives as gifts to be grateful for and really stopped and thought about what we have maybe the "I have to's" would turn into more "I get to's." To see the world as, I get to go to work and provide for my family says a lot. It says first and foremost that I am blessed to have a family and I am blessed to have a job. Not everyone is lucky enough to have those things. Because I do, I have the opportunity each day to love that family to the best of my ability and to take care of that family. Looking at it through those eyes makes our lives look more like we are living out opportunity instead of merely necessity. With opportunity comes gratitude and appreciation. With necessity can come ingratitude and a lack of appreciation. And if you aren't grateful and appreciative, you lose your joy and your passion for everything.

There is a common belief out there that we create what we expect. If we expect nothing good and  we view life as constantly a bunch of "I have to's," then we create negativity and a feeling of drudgery in our lives that keeps us feeling down, frustrated and even can push us to feelings of true discontent and anger. It is almost a self-fulling prophecy. We expect the worst and we get it. On the other hand, if we view each day as a gift and each task as a positive challenge then we can create that too. We can keep alive that child-like excitement of life and possibly re-ignite old passions and maybe even find some new ones along the way.

Since 2019 is still in its infancy, perhaps this is the way we change our lives and shake things up a bit. As I have already stated this new year, I am not making resolutions because those are expectations and when they are not met, they can take on the negative connotation of failure. However, changing my perception could possibly be doable, especially if all it means is looking at the world with just the change of one word. I will change "have" to "get" and maybe that will help me to see each task differently. "I have to pay bills," says it is a necessity and possibly an unpleasant task. "I get to pay bills," says that I have a home, a vehicle, food, electricity and I am lucky. Not everyone has them. Perception is everything in this world and right or wrong, how we perceive things becomes our reality. If we perceive something as negative, it will surely become negative. If we perceive something as good and positive, then it will surely become good and positive. It is really just that simple.

So today, I get to write this blog and reignite my passion for blogging, being creative and all things writing. I also get to be a mother and a grandmother. I get to take care of my house, do my job, run my errands and at the end of the day, I will be grateful because I didn't have to do any of it. I got to do it and that's just pretty great.

Until next time........