Eleanor Roosevelt used to say that: "today is only the result of the decisions we made yesterday". To some it may seem trivial, but the fact is that when our emotions take control and life takes an unpleasant direction, we forget these wise words and rush to blame others or external factors.So, this time I would like to talk about the Butterfly Effect and its implications in the way of dealing with life.
The Butterfly Effect, for those who do not know it, can be summarized as follows: "the flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world", indicating that our universe is connected by many small invisible threads but real.
In other words, the Butterfly Effect indicates that small initial variations can produce large variations in the behavior of a physical system in the long run. If we think of our life as a physical system we begin to see the repercussions of this concept.
Life is the sum of our choices
The Butterfly Effect, applied to our life, means that each of our small daily decisions and habits will produce big changes over time. The problem is that it usually does not depend on just one, but on many small decisions, the consequences of which are often imperceptible. The typical case is that of a person who finds himself immersed in a big problem, but does not know how he got to that point.
On the one hand, applying the principle of the Butterfly Effect to our life allows us to understand and accept that we are where we are due to our decisions. This helps us regain control and take responsibility for our actions. It is not about promoting guilt, but about stopping looking for external culprits by taking responsibility for our mistakes. Only in this way are we able to move forward and grow.
Furthermore, this principle also means that everything we do today will determine our future. This implies that we can change here and now, to achieve the results we want and thus get closer to our goals.
To better understand how the Butterfly Effect works, just think of the subway. There are several stations where we can change trains to get closer and closer to our final destination. Often we don't pay too much attention to these small interchange points and so we risk drifting away from our goal.
In life, if we don't pay attention to these small decisions, after months or years we may find ourselves at a point we don't like without even knowing why. In fact, it is obvious that no one at the beginning of the trip would have bought a ticket for the “Failure Station”, but we will end up there, if we do not pay attention to the interchanges.
Habits and decisions that indicate that we are victims of the Butterfly Effect
- When we get up at the last minute, cursing the clock and we no longer have time to enjoy the first minutes of the day, which should be sacred to start well.
- When we choose to be alone in front of the TV, instead of taking a walk or reading a good book.
- When you smoke, drink and eat too much, just because these habits bring the calm you need.
- When you spend most of the day on social networks and using your mobile phone instead of talking directly to people.
- When we often get lost in “urgent” activities, but completely useless to carry out our life project.
In short, the little bad habits and daily choices can be many and, in one way or another, they determine the course of our life. The important thing is to learn to identify them promptly to eliminate them and replace them with those useful habits that will allow us to reach the goal. Always remember that the worst decision you could make is never to decide.
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