Life would be less stressful, if we stopped worrying about things we can’t control. Most stress is caused by reacting to things and situations we are unable to regulate. Sometimes, we let our minds wander, wherever the wind takes us. When this happens, it forces a certain attitude. If we can learn how to get a grasp of our emotions, it would allow for a better outcome.
Let’s start with the basics. Things happen in life. Whether we want them to or not, it happens. It may be your fault, it may not be. The bottom line is, it happened. At this point, some people will get overly emotional and start playing the blame game.
“Why me?”
“What did I do to deserve this?”
“What am I going to do?”
“If he would have done that, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“She wasn’t supposed to do that!”
Now, let’s learn how to respond to the situations, instead of reacting to the situations. This is the part you can actually control. Think about what happened. Don’t just go haywire with your emotions. Figure out how to move past it. The solution may not be something you want to do at the moment, but nevertheless, it is a solution. You don’t want to spend your money to get the plumbing repaired. You can just sit there and think about how you don’t want to spend your money, or you can be glad that you have the money to spend and call the plumber and get back to your life. You do have options. Some people will just waste time because they don’t want to spend the money. Others will spend the money and go on with having plumbing that works, at their convenience.
There may be a time when you have a hot date and you’ve picked out your outfit. While you’re getting ready, you spill some lemonade on the shirt. “Oh my goodness! There’s lemonade on my date night shirt!” You can go crazy, trying to figure our how to wash it in time or get the lemonade stain out. Or, you could just pick out another shirt, go on the date and choose to wear the lemonade shirt on the second date. Stop letting your emotions take over. It’s not that deep. Do what you can control.
Don’t whine about it. The world is not over, just because something happened that wasn’t supposed to. You can’t control what happens, but you can certainly control how you react or respond to it. Reacting is having the emotional outbursts. Responding is figuring out what to do next, even if it is an unpopular choice, and moving on. No one’s really paying attention to you -everyone is worried about themselves. Control what you can and lead a less stressful, happier life.