A new song by Paul Weller popped up as a recommendation. It's called "Change What You Can" and the chorus goes:
And change what I can
And I'll make the difference I can
And I'll show all else out
All that is worthless
And I'll aim to change what I can
It's a fantastic ability we humans have—if there's something we're not happy with, we can change the situation. We don't like a song, so we skip to the next one. We find a blog post difficult to read, so we activate reading mode.
But it's not always possible for us to change the situation, no matter how much we would like to. Then the other option remains: to accept the situation.
Not in a resigned and negative way. Nor in a false way by convincing ourselves that everything is fine. But simply with a truthful view of the situation as it is right now, in this moment.
It pretty much comes down to both these choices we have in life:
- Change
- Acceptance
You want a higher salary, so you try to change the situation by asking for a raise. If it's accepted, the situation is resolved. If you are turned down, the option remains to change jobs or accept the situation.
If you can't change jobs and refuse to accept the current situation, then you have utilized yet another of humanity's abilities:
You have created a problem for yourself.