"With an intent of certainty, she declares, "I will sell this house today!" She continues to recite this mantra as she scrubs, vacuums, dusts, and otherwise prepares to make good on a sale that, in her very bones, is all but predetermined. Yet as potential buyers come and go, her great intention seems to slip further and further away, and at the risk of spoiling a 26-year-old movie . . . she does not sell that house today."
"Indeed, for much of my existence, I made "acquiring" and "achieving" the bedrock of my life's meaning and standard of worth. Of course, this is not abnormal as, for many of us, our ability to visibly demonstrate our value to others is the very hallmark of a good life. But a nagging question persisted: "Is this really a good life?" Or rather, "Does it feel like a good life?" I certainly don't deny the dopamine-rich pleasure of achievement"
How a person is in life matters at least as much as what they accomplish. Outcomes often lie outside personal control, but individuals control how they encounter and relate to events. Declaring rigid intentions for external outcomes often fails because circumstances and other people influence results. Reliance on acquiring and achieving can provide dopamine-rich validation yet may leave a nagging sense of insufficiency. Choosing the quality of daily thinking and setting an intention rooted in attitude rather than guaranteed outcomes cultivates meaning. Attentive mindset shifts can enhance performance, presence, and emotional well-being even when external circumstances remain unchanged.
Read at Psychology Today
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