Life is happening through you
Many people say:
“Life happens for you, not to you.”
It’s comforting. But I’ve come to see it differently.
I believe:
Life happens THROUGH you.
Some years ago, I went through a major life event that shook me deeply. It felt like my world had collapsed. It shattered my self-identity.
For a while, I lived with the question:
“Why is this happening to me?”
Eventually, I reframed it:
“What is this trying to teach me?”
That helped… for a while. I realised that reframing wasn’t enough as I remained stuck.
The real shift came when I realised:
I still had agency.
I still had a choice.
I could choose who I wanted to become.
In short, I can change the results by choosing a new meaning to what happened and take baby steps towards building a new identity - one that is more true to myself, instead of an identity built around the approval of others.
That shift changed everything.
In conclusion, I’m learning that life is not happening to us. And it’s not magically happening for us either.
Instead, life is happening THROUGH us ie. we have the power to choose the meaning that will shape who we can become.
Contributor: Kausern Hieu