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People often retain lawyers when life goes awry, leading lawyers to develop a warped sense of danger.

In Getting to Yes with Yourself (And Other Worthy Opponents), William Ury urges us to view the world as a friendly place. To view the world as a friendly place we need to silence the inner critic. By silencing the inner critic that uses fear, blame, guilt, and shame as instruments of control we can take responsibility for our future. “Responsibility equals power to meet your needs. Blaming means giving away your power and saying no to yourself.”

To take responsibility for our future, we should “trust life”. We should trust that we can handle whatever life brings us because if we see the world as friendly we will ultimately be more likely to get to “yes” with others. With a positive attitude we will behave differently and our interactions will have different outcomes.

Ury’s message can be summed up as:

Reframe life as friendly even in the face of adversity. Life can be extremely challenging at times. But we can choose whether or not see the challenges as being ultimately in our favour.

Remember your power to make your own happiness.

Appreciate the lessons life gives you.

Let go. Let life flow. Accept the past. Trust the future.

Special thanks to @MitchRoseSGRLLP for recommending the book.