Sometimes I don’t want to do the work. Sometimes I just want to be able to wave a magic wand so that everything works just as it should and the work is done. Sometimes I get frustrated. ( Especially when it comes to technology. ) I want to just drop everything and forget it.
I want to blame the work I have to do on my frustration. I want to blame other people for the things they say or do. I want to blame technology for not being simple or for being to invasive. I want to blame the weather for being so cold. I want to blame the dog for drinking water so very loudly (seriously you all I’ve never heard an animal drink soooo loudly)
It would be much much easier if everything cooperated with me. The technology, the people, the dog, the weather. But it doesn’t work that way. When it doesn’t I want to blame those things for why I’m upset frustrated or irritated. But they are not the problem. My thoughts about them are. You see our thoughts are what create the way we feel. So when I get frustrated it’s because I’m thinking a thought like:
This should be easier.
They shouldn’t say or do that.
Summer is never going to come.
Or Stop drinking the water so loudly (seriously, stop.)
This is what is causing all my frustration. Not the technology, not the people, not the weather, not even the dog. Nope it’s me. This means not only do I need to, but I get to take full responsibility for how I’m feeling.
This my friends, is called emotional adulthood. It’s understanding that there is nothing that can happen or anything that anyone can say or do that can make us feel any certain way. That’s not what makes us happy, sad, angry, excited or frustrated. We do that. All with our thoughts. So when Technology, people, the weather or the dog happen and I start to get mad, I can stop. I can change my thought to something more useful or productive.
I can choose to think thoughts like:
I can do hard things.
I’m curious about what would make them do or say that.
Summer will arrive right on time.
And That dog sure is passionate about drinking.
When we understand this then we can decide on purpose how we want to feel. We may not want to feel rosy and happy all the time. There are times when we want to feel negative emotions. The difference is we own them. We choose them on purpose. When we do that, it’s a whole new game.
I described here some of those every day irks, but this is also true for the bigger things in life we encounter. The things we want to blame God for. The things that break our hearts into tiny little pieces. Yea, it works even in these really hard places. I promise.
It could even be possible that the very thing we think shouldn’t be, could be the very thing that needed to happen. We could even find ourself with gratitude.
Love you madly.
Leslie
P.S. What things do you think are making you frustrated? Email me at leslie.canup@gmail.com and let me know.
