When You Are Really Cranky And Know You Shouldn't Be .. Take Some Time to Talk Yourself Down

I have come a long way in the past few years.  Especially when it comes to letting irritating things roll off me. I have learned to love not fear.  I have learned that irritating people are actually mirroring my own irritating behaviors to me.  I have learned that I can't and don't need to change others but instead need to change myself or my expectations.  I have learned that everyone is doing the best they can with what they have been given.  I have learned compassion by accepting and embracing other people's passions.  I have really learned to let go.

Not more than a week ago I gave myself a little pat on the back for employing all of these things that I learned during a 45 minute long phone conversation with my mother that centered solely around the topic of a window I am choosing not to replace in my house.  The window does not bother me but my mother cannot bear the thought of it.  I listened to her patiently.  I expressed that I understood that she was very disturbed by it.  I told her I appreciated her opinion.  I laughed a little bit.  I let her go on and on until she was done.  And when I hung up the phone I was still smiling and feeling great.

And then Monday rolled around and I was faced with a situation that really ticked me off.  I talked myself through all of my lessons and I was still ticked off.  I was unable to be grateful or compassionate or let go of my judgments or my sense of entitlement.  As hard as I tried I just felt angry about something I perceived as being really unfair.  I even vented to someone else that I know is in the same boat!  While I was unable to let go, I could actually see that I couldn't let go and I knew I needed to do something about it before it spiraled out of control.

So I took a few hours to myself.  And I sat down with my journal and I wrote about everything.  What was I afraid of?  What was being mirrored to me?  How were my expectations not matching with reality?  I eventually came up with an understanding of the root of my issue.  I was mostly able to let it go but I also wrote myself a list of "affirmations" to refer to if I found myself clinging to irritation over this situation again.

Today I barely found myself bothered by the situation and when I was, I grabbed my list and talked myself off the ledge!

YOUR TURN
The next time you are being bogged down by a negative situation, take some time alone to think it through.  When you feel that you understand the situation, make yourself  list of things to tell yourself when you find yourself fretting about it again.