If you know me in person, you know that I say this all the time. I even have a bracelet that says it. It’s my daily mantra and reminder to let things be as they are.

But what happens when you don’t like how things are??

This is a question that I struggle with, because I really am not sure of the answer. I think in my yogi-philosophical brain it makes sense to say that you just have to let the situation be what it is and it will pass and become better eventually. Though this sentiment may be true and rather insightful (if I do say so, myself), real-life me is thinking that this is bulls***.

Some stuff in life can super suck and maybe you don’t want to always “live in the moment,” or whatever. It’s hard to pull yourself out of reality and step back for a minute into “rational” thinking that the sucky stuff will pass. Sometimes you just want to get out of a situation and into a better one, rather than waiting around for the storm to pass.

So why do I constantly say “It is what it is?” Am I not just contradicting myself?

Simple answer- because despite the fact that I don’t like some situations, I do need to accept what’s happening in order to move forward. Put it this way- if you’re in denial that anything is happening, then there’s nothing to change, right? If you don’t accept what’s going on as the truth of the situation, then you can’t do much to improve where you are.

If you accept the situation for what it is, you’re saying “this is the deal and I want to do something about it.” From there, you can take steps to improve whatever spot you’re in.

So it’s not really contradicting myself. If anything, these two concepts are complementary to each other. It’s expanding upon the concept of letting the situation be exactly what it is, and taking it further to embracing the suck and moving forward.

I guess the point here is that you can allow a situation to just BE, while also seeking improvement or forward-motion. The acceptance of it is key, because as soon as we accept what’s happening, we can move on.