Thursday, April 7, 2016

A work in progress



This is part two of my “Words of Power” series. 

The following statement is the springboard for change in my life.

I won’t let any person or situation ruin my day

If I believe this, then …

I choose how I respond to every situation

If I regularly remind myself that nothing is going to ruin my day, it becomes much easier to choose how I react to any given situation.

If I elect to take a deep breath and count to ten before responding, my perspective of the situation can change. And, if my perspective changes, it can change for others that are involved. My reaction (response) can make the difference as to how the rest of the day will play out for me.

This process continues to be a work in process for me. I am substantially better than I was just a year ago, but there is still work needed. 

For example, if something happens that I consider negative, I can be angry, frustrated, hurt or disappointed. This week’s experience to test my belief in the process started with my wife finding a nail in my van’s tire. I was initially disappointed and a little frustrated, but I decided that nothing was going to ruin my day. I felt the situation was actually positive because the tire wasn’t flat. I could still drive it to the tire shop.

So, everything was good. I called the shop to see if I could get in that morning and they said bring it down. All good, right?  When I arrived at the shop, there were only two people waiting. Still good, right? Well, two hours later my van was still waiting to be worked on. I reminded myself that it could be worse. And, finally, three hours later the tire was repaired. I kept reminding myself this was all good as I paid my bill and drove home. 

Well, something wasn’t right because when I arrived home, I was frustrated. And, when my loving wife tried to empathize, I misunderstood her intentions. So, I ended up letting something that I had no control over decide my day as well as my wife’s day. Not good. Apologizes were needed and the point of this post proven.

As I mentioned, it is still a work in progress. J

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