Expect Nothing, Accept Everything

Never let others’ stormy outbursts disturb your peace of mind.

Before philosophy, I was anxious, stressed, and unhappy. I was never satisfied — always trying to do more and be more than I was.

I would compare and compete, thinking that being the best was all that mattered. Yet, I had no idea what was causing my anxiety, stress, and unhappiness.

I would blame others and the world.

If something went wrong, it was never my fault, and that’s the reason why the walls of my life had to come crumbling down.

My focus was all wrong, and it had to change. I had to change.

Change or Be Changed

In life, when you’re destined to do other things, dare I say better things, nature has a way of helping you, in the form of a knock or a shock—perhaps the loss of a loved one, a financial crisis, a serious illness or misfortune of some sort.

As harsh as it may seem, life’s heartbreaks are for our benefit.

For me, it was three tragedies in three months. But this Mac truck of loss and heartbreak catapulted me on a journey like no other—a spiritual quest of self-discovery and enlightenment.

Enter Philosophy

Philosophy taught me that the world cannot cause you stress. There is only one cause, and that cause is the person staring at you every time you look in a mirror.

Rather, it was my inability to handle the challenges that confronted me.

Like everyone, I wanted life to be how I wanted it to be—and that was the problem.

Life doesn’t always shower you with pink fairy dust. Sometimes you get what you want and you're happy, other times you don't.

Philosophy taught me that happiness is not in the world; happiness, cliché as it sounds, is within.

“It is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else" and we are all looking for it anywhere else, except within our own self.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

Don’t Blame the World

People everywhere believe that stress is external, that it’s something or someone else’s fault—whether it’s your partner, children, family, boss, job, the government, or not having enough time—but whatever it is, that’s not the cause.

It’s convenient to blame your circumstances when you’re unhappy or stressed, but blaming others for their outbursts will not help you.

To point the finger and blame is very easy, but there are always three fingers pointing back, meaning no one is responsible but you.

“Nothing in the world can cause you stress, except yourself.” — A. Parthasarathy

In addition, because you believe that stress is coming from outside, you spend your time making superficial changes. You try to correct the outside world to gain inner peace, but it can never work that way.

You can change your environment; you can move lock, stock and barrel from one side of the country to the other, but you will only find temporary peace.

Unless you change yourself, no amount of external changes will help.

Change Your Perception

PEACE begins when we expect nothing and accept everything.

Most people expect everything and accept nothing. They expect the world to be how they want it to be—and when it changes, they wonder why they’re stressed!

Each one of us has our own mental pattern. To expect the world to fit into it is not only unreasonable, it’s unrealistic. Sometimes the world will fit and you'll be happy. Other times it won't, and if you expect it to be different, you’ll be disappointed and stressed.

So why submit yourself to this rollercoaster ride?

Wouldn’t it be better to learn how to draw peace from the world by changing your perception? Wouldn’t it be better to simply accept life as it is and not have any unreasonable expectations?

What do you think?

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