Determine YOUR Response

This is one of those emails that I always seem to get flack for.   But here we go……

Situations aren’t stressful.   Situations are annoying.   They aren’t embarrassing or frustrating.   Your response can be, but the situation isn’t. 

Every day I go pick Riley up from day care and there’s Miss Amy sitting behind her desk with a big smile on her face.  Not more than 3 feet away in any given direction all hell is breaking loose as a room full of 5-10 year olds run a muck!   She’s always calm, always asks how I’m doing.  I’m in there for about 1 minute and I’m wanting to smack a child.  J    Miss Amy sits in there all day every day.   The situation is the same for me as it is for her.   She just handles it better than I ever would.   I’ll bet you a thousand dollars that if I were to bring her down here and listen to some of what we have to go through it would probably drive her up the wall.   But we manage. 

YOU determine how YOU respond to things.   Here’s the one that gets everyone riled up -   Person cuts you off in traffic what do you do?????   Speed up, ride their tail, flip them off, yell at them through the window???    Pull over, get in a fist fight???    Yeah!!!    You could.   You could also just let it slide.     That situation isn’t hostile.   You might be.  They might be.   Both might be.   But the situation is just the situation.  You can do with it what you please.   When I see someone driving like a maniac I usually just get out of their way.   It isn’t worth to me to get in an accident or a fight.  Honestly that person and situation isn’t worth me even getting riled up about it.  So I make my choice.    (that isn’t to say that I’ve never lost my cool or experienced some road rage)  

I’m not saying you have to.  I’m just saying you could.    You can go home tonight and just pre-determine that you are going to have a GREAT night with your friends and family.   Any given situation does NOT control your response.   You determine that.   You decide what and how your behavior is.  

I believe that the more good I put out the more good I get back.  I truly believe that.   It isn’t a 100% formula, but most days I think go pretty well.  When I’m having a bad day and I just feel like being in a bad mood…….  I think bad things tend to happen.