To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.
Isaac Newton
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| Courtesy of Louish Pixel |
this is when applied to personal laws! Just think for a moment... what do you think best describes the behavior of the people around you? Are they reactors or actors? What do you do when external or internal circumstances that you are not in control of bare on you?
The world teaches us to react. That's the world's system. If you're friend punches you in the face, you'll probably punch him back. What happens when someone tells you they'll be here or there at a certain a time and then don't show up? Why of course, you'll be upset. Isn't that natural? I'd say it's automatic, not 'natural'; think of it as a default setting that was programmed into your mind by the constant friction we experience as we move along in this world.
Recently, I read about a man called Victor Frankl. An Austrian psychiatrist and professor, Victor, being a Jew, was taken prisoner and sent to the concentrations camps during WWII by the Nazis. Steeped in Freudianism - which basically says you are the sum of your experiences and environment - this man would have buckled under the horrors of torture and constant threat of death. One by one, his family and loved ones perished. His parents died, his wife too was killed, only his sister was spared.
One day, naked and cold, this man had a revelation. What if he chose to be in control of his response to all that was happening? What if - instead of being tossed here and there by the whims of his captors - he would direct his thoughts, emotions and actions? Freudianism makes us animals - we are merely the products of genetics and stimuli thrown at us, in other words, reactors. Frankl threw that down the drain as he realized that his inner freedom to decide how to respond was something no man would ever be capable of taking from him.
Victor became an inspiration to fellow prisoners and even some of the soldiers guarding him. He began to imagine himself lecturing to students back at his university and telling them about his experiences in the camps. Those 'dreams' came true. He went on to write a best selling book.
I want to invite you today, to look around you. Observe yourself. Take note of all that is moving you for ill or good. Feel the pressures of daily student life grinding you. Now, take a step back, realize that you can be proactive rather reactive. You can decide how to respond to everything that comes your way, so that you'll be in control of your mind, thoughts and emotions and not this exam in a week or the assignment due tomorrow.
It really is that simple. Don't let life just 'happen' to you. Take charge of that one freedom animals do not have... the freedom to choose. You've always had it in you and now it's time to use it. You'll find that university life won't be a blur of stress and toil, but a breeze of fresh air in your life. And why stop with university?
Marc Mikhael, Ph.D.
The Apprentice's Compass - Navigate university!
