Many things that happen to us are simply outside our control, even when we put a lot of energy and hard work to influence the outcome.

How we react though to the new circumstances, it is within our control.

Sounds ok you might say but what does it really mean?

Consider the scenario below:

You expect your employer to announce some redundancies soon. What do you do?

A) Adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach

B) Explore options for different career paths that are more suitable in the ‘new norm’

C) Do online courses and acquire news skills

D) See it as a sign for you to start the business that you always dreamt

E) Do volunteer work

F) Connect with friends and family and share with them that you are looking for a new challenge

G) _________________________    (Fill the blank with your own idea)

H) A combination of the above

There is no right or wrong answer. The point is that you have options. If you find yourself in a similar situation, it is up to you to decide how you want to respond. Whatever you decide to do will open the door to a new path.  ‘A journey of thousand miles start with a single step’, as the Chinese proverb says.

The bottom line: Next time something big happens in your life, take time to explore your options. How you respond to any situation is within your control.

Korina Karampela is the founder of b4iapply. She passionately believes in empowering people to  make informed decisions about their career and their finances. She is a senior executive in the pharmaceutical industry and has an MBA from MIT Sloan. In her limited spare time, she wants to join forces with others to help everybody to be a better version of themselves.