How many times have you prepared a fight in your mind: anticipating that a clerk will give you a hard time, or someone is going to take your place in line or cut you off in traffic, and you are going to be so ready to tell her off?
You invest your mental and emotional energy getting ready to avenge this anticipated wrong that is about to happen. You will put her in her place; she is messing with the wrong person! Your heart rate is up, you are breathing deeply and the daggers are coming out of your eyes. Ah, EGO at work.
Your turn comes, and you are ready to take the gloves off for your anticipated fight. Suddenly she looks at you and smiles, and tells you “No Problem- I can take this back without a receipt,” or “I am SO sorry, I just didn’t see you there and didn’t mean to push ahead.” You are instantly deflated and diffused, and even a bit let down because you invested all that emotional energy and now don’t need to use it.
So be better than that today and use a different behavior. Stop yourself when you feel your anger rising over something that did not even happen yet, and most likely, will not.
Give the other person the benefit of the doubt. Better yet, find your compassion and smile first! The outcome will be truly nourishing for you and others. You can take that same energy and use it for a more positive outcome, putting you and the rest of the world in a little bit better place.
You invest your mental and emotional energy getting ready to avenge this anticipated wrong that is about to happen. You will put her in her place; she is messing with the wrong person! Your heart rate is up, you are breathing deeply and the daggers are coming out of your eyes. Ah, EGO at work.
Your turn comes, and you are ready to take the gloves off for your anticipated fight. Suddenly she looks at you and smiles, and tells you “No Problem- I can take this back without a receipt,” or “I am SO sorry, I just didn’t see you there and didn’t mean to push ahead.” You are instantly deflated and diffused, and even a bit let down because you invested all that emotional energy and now don’t need to use it.
So be better than that today and use a different behavior. Stop yourself when you feel your anger rising over something that did not even happen yet, and most likely, will not.
Give the other person the benefit of the doubt. Better yet, find your compassion and smile first! The outcome will be truly nourishing for you and others. You can take that same energy and use it for a more positive outcome, putting you and the rest of the world in a little bit better place.
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