Humans are interpreting machines. You give meaning to everything. In other words, you decide what things mean—even if that interpretation is incorrect. Then, your interpretations impact your experiences.

Typically, the meaning you assign to things and experiences is incorrect. But you choose to believe the assigned meaning and live your life based on your interpretations.

I have heard Tony Robbins, T. Harv Eker, and Jim Fortin—just to mention a few well-known personal growth teachers—say, “Nothing has any meaning except the meaning you give it.” Life is primarily undefined…until you and I define it.

You Give Meaning to Everything

You give meaning to everything. Something happens or somebody says something to you, and you interpret it a certain way. You give it meaning based on past experiences, beliefs, and programming.

For instance, your partner says something, and you interpret his/her/their tone of voice as “angry.” You then interpret his/her/their words and attitude to mean you’ve done something wrong or he/she/they are angry at you. But that may not be true.

Or perhaps you get fired. You interpret that to mean your boss didn’t think you were good enough at your job. You give that interpretation so much power that you decide you are someone who doesn’t do good work, isn’t skilled, and isn’t knowledgeable. The meaning you gave that one job loss impacts your ability to find and keep a job—even though you were fired because of budget cuts (not performance).   Or maybe your marriage failed, and you interpreted that to mean you’re not worthy of a loving relationship. Or you are someone who fails at marriage. You believe that to be true of yourself even though, in actuality, the person left because they thought they were unworthy of a loving wife or had commitment issues. The failed marriage had little or nothing to do with you.

Historical Meaning

Your interpretations are not based on fact. They are based on what you’re feeling or thinking, your beliefs, and the programming you received in the past. Much of what you feel, think, and believe is based on the past.

Nothing is good or bad or right or wrong—until you interpret it that way or adopt someone else’s shared meaning about it.

The idea that you should or shouldn’t do something is an interpretation, too. For example, maybe your parents told you you should become a doctor. That was their interpretation of an appropriate, reliable, or profitable career.

However, the meaning they gave to becoming a doctor came from their past experiences or programming. Maybe they knew doctors who were wealthy and successful. And so, they said, “You should become a doctor.”

You might not have given that career the same meaning. In fact, you might have interpreted becoming an MD as expensive, time-consuming, and uninteresting. And you decide you should not pursue that career path…especially since your science teacher said you were bad at that subject, you fainted one time when your friend broke his leg, and you hated school. Those experiences led you to the belief that you are not cut out to be a doctor. That was your interpretation.

On the other hand, it’s possible you paid close attention to what your parents said. Their interpretations or beliefs, therefore, programmed you to believe becoming a doctor was the “right” thing to do. So you went to medical school.

7 New Interpretations

If you want to change the meaning you assign to things, people, or experiences, try the following Applied Psychology exercise. When you have an experience or react to something or someone, notice your thoughts. How you are interpreting it?

Then, come up with seven new interpretations or meanings.

I used to habitually interpret my husband’s anger to mean I had done or said something that angered him. More often than not, he was upset about something else and simply reacted in a way I interpreted as anger. If I asked him about his anger, he would explain it had nothing to do with me. Or he would say he wasn’t angry.   I began using this exercise. When I interpreted my husband’s body language, words, or energy as “angry,” I would say to myself, “I know I am interpreting his anger to mean I’ve done something he has chosen to be angry about. But what else could it mean?”

Then I’d make my list.

“Maybe it means he had a bad day, is tired, is worried about money, is stressed about work, read an upsetting email, got a big bill, or he’s not actually angry.”

By the time I finished my list of seven new interpretations, I realized there was a high likelihood his anger had nothing to do with me. He might not even be angry at all. Then, I could give the situation a different meaning—or none at all.

You can reinterpret anything, including a divorce, job loss, rejection, or a friend ghosting you. Deciding that something has no meaning at all is a valid interpretation.

Nothing has Any Meaning Except…

Remember: nothing has any meaning except the meaning you give it. So, how have you interpreted your life, and do those interpretations serve you?

I’m sure you realize that if your interpretations lean toward the negative, they do not support you. This includes interpretations like: “My experiences have shown me that the universe doesn’t have my back, life sucks, and life is unfair.”

Know that the meaning you give to your life experiences determines your life experience. (Read that again.)

Negative interpretations will not create a present or future experience demonstrating that the universe has your back or that life is miraculous and fair.

You can interpret your past any way you choose. However, if you give positive meaning to your current or past experiences, you will have more positive experiences.

Choose Your Interpretations

The meanings you assign are illusions created by the brain’s desire to interpret everything. Yet, you have a choice.

You can stand in your personal power and exercise your personal freedom by asking, “What meaning do I want to give these things?”

For example, “What meaning do I want to give to the fact that I just got fired? Do I want it to mean my skills were not up to par and I wasn’t good enough to be in that position? Or do I want it to mean I’m supposed to be doing something else, or there’s a better job out there for me?”

You get to choose the meaning you give to an experience. Your chosen interpretation alters the quality of any experience simply because you changed the meaning you give it.

Alter the Meaning You Give to Circumstances

The same holds true for circumstances, which are a type of experience. Let’s say you don’t have a lot of money in the bank right now. That doesn’t have to mean you’re bad at making or saving money…unless you choose to assign that meaning to this circumstance.

Instead, it could mean you need to exercise or strengthen your ability to budget and save money.

You may need to change your identity and be the type of person who lives within their means. Or you can choose to be someone who always has more than enough money.

Such new interpretation about your identity change your mindset and habits. And that changes your experience of life as well as what you create.

The Impact of One New Interpretation

Choose one interpretation you’ve made about yourself, your experiences, or your situation. Now, consider how reinterpreting this would impact your life.

What would become possible if you gave yourself, circumstances, or experiences a positive meaning? If you reinterpreted them positively and gave them positive meaning, how would that impact how you feel about yourself, your life, and the people and situations in your life?

It would make a huge difference, would it not? In fact, it would change everything.

You can create that transformation simply by reinterpreting and giving new meaning to everything, from who you are being to your current life to your past experiences. That is totally within your power.

The Reinterpretation Challenge

I challenge you to begin reinterpreting everything. Assign new meanings to your current circumstances and past experiences.

However, only choose interpretations you find supportive. You have an opportunity to change yourself and your life by intentionally choosing to assign positive meaning to things, people, and experiences—or no meaning at all.

How will you reinterpret your experiences, yourself, or your circumstances? Tell me in a comment below. And please share this post with someone who might benefit from reading it.

Photo courtesy of sartisadee.