Quoted: George Bernard Shaw on Blaming the Circumstances

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them." – George Bernard Shaw

It’s amazing how each of us creates an identity. The identity we create has a body of knowledge and experiences that we depend on. As a result, the identity functions on automatic and helps us survive in this world. If you observe, you have a particular response to situations given the stimulus. 

In other words, who we are has gotten us to where we are. When we encounter circumstances we like, we are happy. When we are faced with what we don’t like, we fight, take flight or freeze. The identity we have predetermines our actions. And it is difficult to see it is our identity that is driving our thoughts and actions.

This same identity that guides us may also trap us. We believe the identity we have is the right one and it protects us. Without question, it has gotten us to where we are. Yet, our response to stimulus is so predictable that we can’t see the possibility of completely new ways of thinking and doing things.

However, those who clearly see what they want in life understand they must become someone else to get there. More importantly, they will modify the environment, and in some cases, they will creatively destroy the environment, to create the circumstances that will support their goals.

Creative destruction is not as painful as it sounds. It requires you let go of limiting beliefs that were given to you by the environment you were born into. That may mean letting go of relationships and objects that represent the past.

Go ahead! Lighten your load and move into the circumstances you desire.