All of us have come across people who are the powerhouses of energy. It’s so much fun to be around them. They have this aura around them and wherever they go, they seem to have the ability to light up the place. You enter a party and look around and you will find these people to be the centre of attraction. People are either listening to what they have to say or simply want to be standing next to them. On the other hand we all know of people who I call “Whiners”. These are people who never have anything good to say or share. You know the kind. You say Good morning and their answer is “What’s so good about this morning”. You ask them how they are doing and they will often respond “I’m surviving “or “Still alive”. Stop yourselves and ask yourself which type of person would you like to meet the first thing in the morning? I hope you answer was the first. Now ask yourself which type are you? At this point I can tell you exactly what you are thinking. I can almost read your mid even though I don’t know you. You are probably thinking that you are neither kid. You are neither a “Whiner” nor this turbo charged superman you wish you could be. You know what. You are right. Because there is a 3rd kind which is where most of us fall into.
There are essentially 3 ways of Living your life
Caged:
This is quite literally what it says. In this state you are in a cage or have a feeling of being “trapped”. Trapped in your circumstances, with the environment around you, with the people around you. You have this feeling of being helpless and often are playing the “blame game”. Everyone except you is responsible for the situation you are in. Life’s challenges seem insurmountable to these people and they seem to complain about anything and everything they come across.The vocabulary of these people will include words and phrases like “surviving”, “trying to make ends meet”, “trying to make a living”, etc. This is the first type that I mentioned earlier. People who live caged lives have almost resigned to their circumstances are sometimes just going through life. They merely “exist” and are not living.
Comfort:
This is the state where a majority of the people are today. People in this state have a feeling of an “easy” life and don’t have any major complains about life. They usually have a decent comfortable life, a good career, a house, family, good car, annual holiday trips and the usual material pleasures of life. You ask these people how life is and the most probable answers you would get are “fine”, “not bad”, “couldn’t complain”, etc. These are people who have worked hard enough to make a living but not hard enough to have a life. These are people whom I call as living in the “comfort zone”.
There’s a very nice anecdote that I’m reminded of. There was once a group of people playing cards at a roadside coffee shop. A customer who entered the shop saw a dog sitting next to the group of people. This dog was constantly moaning, loud enough to be heard but enough not to disturb the group of people. He curiously asked the group of people why the dog was moaning and one of them replied that the dog was sitting on a nail. The man a bit surprised by it asked why does it not get up and move. One from the group replied “Because it’s not painful enough”. This is what has happened to most people who live in the comfort zone. They have enough not to complain too much but are always moaning to want more and more but don’t do anything about it as it does not really hurt them. Most of the world’s so called middle-class live in this state. You are better off than the caged but you are still not truly enjoying life as you should.
Charged:
This is where it gets exciting. This is the state where the superman’s of this world live in. Life for them is a journey not a destination. They have realised a purpose in their life which is beyond the imagination of most people. They are in a state of “high voltage” all the time and always raring to go. They have their share of setbacks and down moments but they don’t let these change their state of being. These are people who if they cannot find the circumstances they wish for, they go and create them. These are the people we often describe as “energetic”, “electric”, “inspiring”, “motivating”, etc.
Many believe that people in this category have been blessed, gifted or are plain lucky. This is far from the truth. Each one of the people in this category has probably gone through or going through events in their life which we probably could not face up to. But they have not let the circumstances get the better of them. Through positive attitude, self-discipline, persistence, hard work and love for life, they have learnt to make the best of what life has to offer them.
Which state are you in and more importantly where do you want to be? Living a charged life is not difficult. It all starts with having the right attitude and positive thinking. Positive thinking is something which is much heard, extensively read but not practiced enough. Positive thinking does not mean to expect the best in every moment; rather it is to accept that whatever is happening is best for that moment. Remember pain is the difference between what you have and what you want. Pain is often inevitable, suffering is optional and you are the one to choose… ATTITUDE!