For me, this is a question I ask myself often, as part of my journey of conscious living and putting into practice one of my values of learning for life.

Some of my most challenging life-lessons have come when I was in full-on resistance.  And when those challenges came, I certainly felt very hard done by, like things were really tough and things were being done to me.

It’s a powerful shift in perspective for me to go from ‘I have to’ to genuinely believing, ‘I choose to’ and ‘I get to’.

And on of the big whoppers that happened for Chris and I was when we were hit by a car whilst using a pedestrian crossing. It really was a wipe-out.

We experienced multiple injuries: Chris smashed the car windscreen with his head, fracturing his skull and bruising his brain, and was still picking out pieces of glass from his head about 5 years later.  I had a complex, separated fracture of my left shoulder, plus multiple fractures in my knee needing reconstruction. I actually needed to learn to walk again.

Yup – a total game changer.

So, one of my biggest shifts was from thinking that this terrible thing had happened to us, to realising our situation was a choice.

I can almost hear you – ‘what? how could this have been a choice?!’ 1

When we looked closer at what was going on around this time, Chris + I realized we hadn’t been listening to important signs in our lives that the path we were following wasn’t taking us the direction of where we were aiming for.

So, it took this cracker to literally stop us in our tracks and encourage us to reevaluate. I am in fact super-grateful because since then we’ve created a very different lifestyle, experiencing our own freedom PLUS the ability to go beyond our own needs and contribute to others’.

Does any of this strike a chord for you? If yes, I’d love to hear in what way because this is how I learn – it’s the insights you share that inspire, educate and delight me.

Keep sharing your sunshine, and I’ll see you on this week’s #AliveWithFi

¹By crikey! Our perspective is everything. And I love how Gina puts it in her article – “changing your perspective is like changing the window through which you view the world. When you change how you view the world, you change how you feel about it.” “Change How You Feel By Changing Your Perspective” G. Petty, (n.d.)

Fi Jamieson-Folland D.O, is The LifeStyle Aligner, with over 27 years experience in Europe, Asia and New Zealand as a qualified osteopath, educator, writer, certified raw vegan gluten-free chef, speaker, health mentor and Health Brand Ambassador. She loves to globe-trot with her husband Chris (NZ, Australia, USA, UK + Europe and Indonesia are current favourites) relishing an outdoor lifestyle and time with family and friends.

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