Clyde Lee Dennis here, and today in our seven good minutes.

Extra segment, we're exploring the profound truth that you are not what happens to you,

but how you choose to respond to what happens through you.

This wisdom cuts to the heart of personal empowerment and authentic living.

So often, we unconsciously believe that our identity is shaped by our circumstances,

that we are the product of our experiences, our challenges, our successes, and failures. But this

quote reminds us of a deeper truth. We are not passive recipients of life's events, but active

participants in how those events move through us and shape our response.

Think about two people facing the same difficult situation, perhaps a job loss, a health challenge, or a relationship ending.

The external circumstances are identical, but their responses can be vastly different. One person might respond with

bitterness, blame, and resignation, while another responds with resilience, growth, and renewed purpose.

The difference isn't in what happened to them, but in how they chose to let that experience

move through them. This doesn't mean we should suppress our natural emotional

responses or pretend that difficult things don't affect us. Rather, it means recognizing that between

what happens and who we become, there's a space of choice. In that space lives our true power.

The ability to decide not just what we do, but who we are in the face of whatever life presents.

When we understand that we are not what happens to us, we free ourselves from the victim mentality that keeps us stuck.

We stop waiting for circumstances to change before we can be happy, peaceful, or fulfilled.

We realize that our character, our values, and our way of being in the world, are choices

we make moment by moment, regardless of external conditions.

This perspective transforms challenges from things that happen to us into opportunities that happen through us.

Chances to practice courage, compassion, resilience, or wisdom.

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