The Art of Responding—May 11

SAGe (Self-Actualized Genius)—Learn More

May 11, 2025

Sunday SAGe Newsletter Volume 34: The Art of Responding

Here is this week’s installment of Sunday SAGe, an email communication that shares wellness inspiration from The Wellness Ethic to help people thrive during the coming week (and beyond!).

This week, we’ll cover one of the most empowering truths always present in your life—your freedom to choose how you respond to a situation to move your life forward.

The Art of Responding

An excerpt from The Wellness Ethic:

I was first exposed to the power of intentionally choosing your response to life when I read Viktor Frankl’s seminal masterpiece “Man’s Search for Meaning.”

Frankl, born in 1905, was a practicing psychiatrist in Austria as Nazi Germany began its evil aggressions during World War II. In 1942, he was arrested by the Nazis and then held as a prisoner in a series of concentration camps. Despite the horrific conditions, Frankl found that it was still possible to nurture a spiritual life. He and others could “retreat from their terrible surroundings to a life of inner riches and spiritual freedom.”

As Frankl wrote in his book:

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance.

What It Means

That passage best captures your challenge when faced with a difficult situation: How can you respond to your reality in a way that stays true to the meaning of your life, to feel and share love? How can you avoid becoming the “plaything of circumstance”?

Whether you face significant challenges, or minor issues that pitterpatter into your life each day, you are always empowered to choose a life-affirming response to your circumstances to move your life forward.

You’re not guaranteeing an outcome when you choose your response—the result is out of your control. You’re putting yourself in a position for the best possible outcome given your situation—that’s what you can control.

A paradigm shift regarding how you view outcomes may be required for you to become fully satisfied with your life. Most people view outcomes as pass/fail: I will take X action to accomplish Y goal. If they fall short of their goal, they feel like they’ve been unsuccessful.

When responding to life, the only outcome you should seek is to have your Self-Actualized Genius engage in the moment to move your life forward in a positive direction to the best of your ability. Nothing more, nothing less. If the result turns out favorably, that is preferred but not required for success, as the outcome can depend on factors outside your sphere of influence.

A fulfilled life is an engaged life that brings out your best, based on what you can control, not necessarily a life filled with accomplishments that awe society.

Your Call to Action

Take a look at what’s going on in your life. There are probably many good things but also circumstances that challenge you, whether it’s a health issue, a relationship breakdown, a layoff at work, or current events that you’re passionate about.

What is a response to a challenge in your life that aligns with your values, has the best chance to bring love into your life and the lives of others, and is within your control? Choose that response.

Have a wonderful week!