We are all victims...to some extent

We have little or no control over the world--at least not as individuals. If a hurricane floods our home, or an earthquake destroys it, we have no control over the earthquake or the hurricane.

That being said, however, we can choose how much we are victims of our situation. On a basic level this is a choice between focusing on what we can do and what we can create in our lives, or focusing on that which we cannot do or cannot have. We may not be able to choose what the situation is, but we are able to choose what we focus our attention on.

By focusing on what we cannot do, we place ourselves in role of victim, because we are focused on things we cannot control, and therefore focused on what happens to us. By focusing on what we cannot do we create a frame of mind in which we have no power.

By focusing on what we can do, we place ourselves in a role of empowered actor, because we are focused on the choices available to us and the things that we can control.

Many times I hear people say "I have problem X," in fact, I know I've said many times myself. I've wallowed in focusing on my problems many times. I've let it paralyze me. Nowadays I realize the best response to a statement of "I have problem X" is to ask, "what courses of action are open to you?" Talking about the problem has a strong tendency to focus on what cannot be done, which puts one in a victim-mindset. Talking about the courses of action that are open forces the focus to shift to those things that can be done, which automatically puts one in the mindset of an active agent, one who does things, rather than simply accepting a situation.

So, yes, we may be victims to blind circumstance over which we have no control. But we do not have to be victim to our own patterns of thinking and reaction, instead, by focusing on what we can do, we can put ourselves into a frame of mind in which we have the power to make choices and affect our situation to our advantage.