Pointer represents our attitude.
More specifically, Pointer represents who we assign responsibility to for what’s going on in our lives.
When things go well, do you take credit?
When things go wrong, do you own it?
Blame Game
When Pointer is out of shape, the compulsion to blame circumstances, other people, and life itself for what happens.
In some people, it’s such a powerful habit that it shapes the core of their being. This one practice deteriorates well-being in all areas of life.
Echo is impacted because blaming others is a powerless position. When what happens is someone else’s fault, then the situation cannot be impacted.
Because, no matter how desperately you try, no matter how much you think it’s necessary, you cannot change other people.
Mojo struggles because there are barriers to every avenue for well-being:
“Healthy food is expensive.”
“I can’t afford a gym.”
“If I drink more water I’ll spend all of my time in the bathroom.”
“I can’t do anything about my insomnia, it is what it is.”
Sparky becomes a lost cause. If the reason a person is hot-tempered is because other people are who they are, there’s nothing to be done. Raging against the bureaucracy, politics, religion, or the price of gas have zero impact on anything but your blood pressure and your relationships with others around you.
Buddy suffers because we blame life for what happens. You become lonelier and more disconnected from others because of your nasty temper. You may become whinier and sadder because you are powerless.
Take Ownership
When you take ownership of your life, you realize, there is a large amount of what goes on in life that you cannot control.
There is one area where you have 100% control: your attitude.
Viktor Frankl, in “Man’s Search for Meaning”, detailed his experience in a German concentration camp during World War II. The conditions, the deprivation, and the hopelessness of being a prisoner are the bulk of the book. He was a psychiatrist and became interested in discerning how people survived.
He concludes this:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
It takes practice to accept life on life’s terms. It takes daily attention to ask yourself pointed questions,
“What was my part in this situation?”
“How is my attitude improving what is happening here?”
“How do I need to do things differently next time?”
Paying attention to your Gremlins daily is an important piece in living your best life. When Pointer is in shape, you have reclaimed large chunks of your power to shape your best life.
