Carry Your Own Weather

A couple of days ago, an incident had left me flustered and irritable – it was a bad hair day. On such days we would let ourselves to feel blue – and start the day under the impression that the rest of the morning, and the afternoon as well, would be spoilt. Later that day, I had a speaking engagement and wondered how the dark cloud could be lifted up. A dear friend tried to cheer me up by exchanging jokes.

Within two hours, I was thinking that I could carry my own weather and be consistent – regardless of how people treated me. Then I remembered that I needed to take responsibility of my own life and not see myself as a victim of the social weather around me.

Life is the result of our own decisions and not what happens to us. We all have a choice. We can choose to be happy or grumpy as the weather changes about us.

We should never build our emotional life around the weaknesses of others, or else we are, indirectly, giving them permission to make us unhappy. What happens to us is not as important as what happens in us. No one can take away your happiness without your permission – and as Gandhi puts it, “They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them.”

No matter what happens to you, be it the past, present or near future, remember that you have a choice – a choice to respect yourself and be happy.

This brings me back to that day – the day I chose to carry my own weather. I chose to respect myself, have fun and be happy. And yes! My audience caught on to my happy mood and had fun.

You can choose not to let yourself be a victim of circumstances. Carry your own weather: respect yourself and be happy. Soon, you’d notice that the others around you will be as happy as you too!

Try it! Be warned: It’s contagious!