Addicted To Chaos

I was watching this movie, Changing Lanes, with Ben Afleck and Samuel L.
Jackson, last week, and one line in particular struck me and caught my
attention. Jackon’s character was a recovering alcoholic, and at one point in
the movie, one of his associates (I believe it was the guy in charge of his AA
meetings) said to him, “You’re not an alcoholic. You’ve never been addicted to
alcohol. You’re addicted to chaos.”

That started me thinking, how many people are the exact same way?

We all know someone who’s life is just full of turmoil.  They seem to attract bad
luck wherever they go, and everything “always happens to them”.  Sort of like a
poster child for Murphy’s Law. I’ve known a few in my time as well, and largely,
they seem to bring it on themselves. To tell the truth, I used to be one myself. 
Hindsight being 20/20 and all.

The first step to overcoming this, of course, is realizing that there is a problem
to start with. I think it might be partially due to the endorphin rush that occurs
when we get into a situation that causes the “Fight or Flight” response, brought
on by stress.  Some people go through life immersed in a “what next?” mentality
, and our mind does us the extreme favor of always trying to answer whatever
question we throw at it. So, for those “exceptional” individuals, they walk along,
day after day, expecting that inevitable something to hit them in the head with a
brick, and receive EXACTLY what they are subconsciously asking for.

See, if you’re just muddling through life, not entirely happy with the way things
are going for you, but not quite sure what to do about it, you create an open spot
for “something” to fill in.  That something will usually manifest as a challenge or
obstacle for you to deal with. The beautiful thing about challenges is that we
become a better person, a more complete human, when we overcome them. 
The down side is that if we don’t choose the challenge, very often the challenge
will choose us.

The cure?  The Answer? Easily said, and not easily done if you don’t have much
experience in choosing your state of mind, picking your battles so to speak. You
 start by getting ahold of yourself, getting a handle on your thoughts.  Look at
your thought patterns from a third party point of view.  Notice them cruising
through your mind, and CHOOSE whether or not to respond to them, or how to
respond to them at the very least. Develop self-control.  Then, begin producing
your own state of mind by choice, rather than by chance. Choose what you
resonate with, and stop resonating with chaos.

“Worry is interest paid on a debt you may never owe”.  I’m not sure who said it,
but it sure is true. Statistically, less than half of all the crap we worry about ever
 comes to pass.

When you get some control of your mind, choose peace, prosperity, and
abundance. Become larger than the circumstance. Become More Human than
Human, as Rob Zombie used to say.  Eventually, you will see challenges and
obstacles simply as an opportunity to grow, and chaos will be left in the dust,
where it belongs.

                                           More Good Stuff in the book at
                                                 WWW.YFUATIW.COM