I've spent most of my life thinking up things such as what people think of me and having it ultimately changing the way that I approach certain things. Things like getting dressed, how I act, speak, who I hang out with, etc. The list is endless. Heck, I still do this at times. It's hard to not be concerned with what other people think of you, but it's not impossible.

As far as our circumstances go, it is entirely up to us how we react to the things that get thrown at us. A prime example of a situation that was horrible (yet also a circumstance I created) would be back in 2015 when I was in a double car accident and totaled my car. With this car accident, my first response was anger. Anger at the woman who essentially caused the accident by driving with a suspended license and slamming on her brakes causing a chain reaction and then of all things to speed off. I was angry at the man who was looking at his cell phone and not the road as he plowed into the back end of my car. I was angry that I just lost so much of my money in a time span of five minutes. I was angry later on for the back, neck, and hip problems that followed the accident.

See, I was so blinded by my anger that I let despair and blame creep in. "I can't afford a new car." "My insurance is going to go up." "I lost so much money." "If the woman wasn't driving, none of this would have happened." "What if I just left two minutes later?" "How am I going to get from point A to point B? Let alone work?"

I thought myself into this pit of despair. It was a mindset that I was "stuck" financially, geographically, and even physically. Little did I know that I had extremely generous friends that would give me rides when I needed them or even let me borrow their vehicles. Little did I know that I would find a job only a five-minute walk away from me. And little did I know that with several chiropractor visits, lots of stretches, and consistent working out that I would be able to heal my back, neck, and hip nearly completely.

I thought myself into a mindset that I was trapped, that I had no way out, that I had "lost everything" when in reality I gained so much. Ultimately out of everything, my biggest loss was financial, but money is just that, money. I could have died, but I didn't. I'm alive and well. Breathing. Walking. Talking and so much more. I would rather have that and be alive than the money that I "lost" and be dead.

I'm not saying that our situations are a mindset, I'm saying that the perspective that we take on our situations createthe circumstances we live in that ultimately make or break us. Do yourself a favor and free yourself from your mindset, whether it's negative, self-degrading, anxiety-ridden, you name it. Free yourself from the prison you made in your mind and life will become so much more alive to you. It'll take time, it'll be painful, but it's just like exercise, you have to work at it every day. You can't eat like crap and do one sit-up and expect to have wash-board abs. It doesn't work like that. You have to change your diet, your exercise, what you consume, how you treat your body and so much more. You have to work at it constantly even when you don't feel like it. Find yourself an accountability partner and strive to free yourself. I know you can do it, because I have.