Alternate Perceptions Magazine, June 2023
Viewing Your Life as a Creation Rather Than a Compilation
by: Stan Prachniak
There are many ways in which a person can view their life, but one of the most common ways is as a compilation of events. We all go through various stages in life and experience different benchmarks as we do so. As a society we have created age-related “achievements” that serve as rights of passage—16 years old and 21 years old are probably the most obvious of these. From birth we begin accumulating achievements like rolling over, crawling, standing, walking, etc. Most of us work our way through the education system from grade school to middle school to high school, and then we graduate—another major milestone in our life. I use these simple examples because they are a good way to show how we tend to view our success in life as a compilation of achievements or major events. But what if we take a step back and look at these events as a form of who we are instead of what we have done? Understanding how your experiences in life have shaped who you are today can have a profound effect on how you choose to become the person you want to be in the future.
I believe that the majority of people have a desire to better themselves. And this cannot be done by just compiling life events. You have to find your purpose and motivation for reaching these stages, not just because society says this is what must be done. One way to accomplish this is to begin seeing yourself as a creation formed by a combination of genetics, environment, beliefs, life experiences, and countless other things. Life events shape who you are. Some of these things are completely out of your control, but some are not. It is how you handle the events that you have some control of that will have the most profound effect on who you will become. Viewing your life as a creation gives you control to decide what you do and how you act when experiencing life. Either you will choose to act in accordance with what the person you want to become or you will not.
Viewing yourself as a creation, and knowing who you are and who you want to become will allow you to take control of your decisions in life. And this is one way for you to become your best self. Your life is your canvas and you can choose to create what you want with it.
Freedom To Change offers a way for you to not just compile events in life, but to start creating your path and truly begin living your life. For more information on the Freedom To Change materials, visit www.freedom2change.org.
