08/30/2020
Love this post from a couple years ago - still rings true!
Coming out of my yoga class this morning, I saw this sign "Life has its ups & downs…We call them SQUATS". I thought, "how clever, love the play on words!" Then it got me pondering….might have been the yoga centering I just did, lol. Life is going to throw lots of different experiences at us - some we label as "good", some we label as "bad". But it's up to US what we choose to call them.
Every day, we have events and experiences that happen TO us. You know, like when you're at work and a customer (or co-worker) says something that makes you want to reach over (or climb through the phone) and just smack them. You think "What is their PROBLEM? I didn't do anything to them, why are they being so rude/difficult/surly?" Or maybe it's your husband calling you at like 9am and asking "so, what's for dinner?" You think "OMG - are you serious?? I've got SO much to do today like running the kids to everything under the sun and somehow trying to make sure the youngest ones get some sort of mental stimulation (plopping them in front of the TV to watch Sponge Bob Square Pants should count right???), not to mention cleaning the house and trying to make a small dent in the huge mount of clothes that's taken over the laundry room…..and you're asking me about something that's a whole NINE hours away???" Or maybe it's your teenager coming in from a friend's house and happily telling you all about the fence they just helped their friend's Dad build and all the hard work they did….and while you're outwardly smiling and nodding, what you're thinking is "Seriously? I can't even get you to create a walking path to get to your bed through all the crap in your room and you're helping someone else build a FENCE?? Who are you??"
Whatever the experience is, it's something that happens TO us. It's up to us to decide how to respond to it. We have the ability to DECIDE how we not only react outwardly to the experience/event but also how we feel and talk about it to our inner critic. You know, the little voice in your head that has a running dialogue with you every minute of the day, the one you swear if anyone else could heard, they would think you were the most horrible person in the world. Because let's face it, that voice is usually judgmental and critical - of others and most especially of ourselves. "You're not good enough, who do you think you are, you're never going to accomplish (fill in the blank), you'll never lose the weight and keep it off, you're unlovable" are just some of the many things this inner voice tells us, day in and day out. You know what I'm talking about.
And this inner voice or critic has a HUGE influence on how we FEEL which then determines how we react outwardly. Thoughts control our emotions which control our actions. So, what if you could consciously recognize that inner voice or that gut/first reaction you have to a situation? How would it feel to not just reframe or rationalize that inner critic but honestly shift your thinking/your energy to a higher level and actually SEE the situation differently? If you rationalized, it would sound something like this: "Maybe that customer is just having a bad day OR maybe my husband isn't asking what's for dinner because it's just one more "chore" he expects me to do but because he wants to brainstorm how he can help OR it's because my teenager feels so comfortable/loved at home that he can be his real messy self and knows he doesn't need to DO things to earn my love - it's unconditional".
Shifting your energy to a higher level of consciousness allows you to see the situation as an OPPORTUNITY! An opportunity to grow, learn something new, view the situation without judgement - no right or wrong, it just IS. How different would your life be?? Life has its ups & downs…..I call them opportunities! Have an energetic day!
