· Choices & Rainbows
Every day we are faced with tasks, responsibilities and choices. What if our feelings about those thoughts weren’t always what we needed?
Okay, hear me out….what if I woke up late, stepped in dog vomit, and your coffee maker broke…all within 10 minutes of you jumping out of bed. That sounds like a disaster…and how many times have we said, man, my day is shot….my day is ruined, my day is going to be terrible?
Why do we feel like such a fortune teller? Why do we think we can predict how the rest of the day goes….
Well, because many times in the past, when we started off our day with sideways activity, the rest of our day seemed like a pretty bad day. We provided proof…or did we?
I’m wondering…what if we started our dumpster fire day, and then let that mean that those happenstances happened….but then that’s it?
What if we chose to let that be our morning, and then we chose to have a better day?
Don’t get me wrong, vomit is gross…being late is frustrating, and man, do I love me some coffee! What if even when “bad” things happened, we opted to not let those situations ruin our morning, our day, or when we’re feeling spicy, our entire life?
We have a choice to determine the next step. We have the option to get sucked into the rabbit hole of negative chatter, or to choose something else. Maybe, just maybe, something else looks like a boat-load of happy thoughts that kind of feel like rainbows and butterflies. Maybe it’s okay to wrap our “realist” mentality with sunshine and fairies. Things are going to happen, regardless of how we process them.
I was having a conversation with my teen the other night. He vehemently despises doing the dishes. Why is this?
His thought is that he shouldn’t have to do them. His other thoughts: someone else should do them, I don’t like them, and I’m sick of having to rinse out crusty cereal from my brothers’ bowls.
Okay, so the last part is totally understandable; sour milk and crusty cereal is gross!
Whether he wants to do them or not, this is his chore. He can own it; he can make it a challenge. He doesn’t have to love it, but regardless of his “feelings,” he’s going to ultimately choose to do the dishes because that’s part of the teen phone/transportation deal in our house.
Most of us can relate to this on a regular basis. There’s a task that requires completion, and we do not want to do it. Adults and children aren’t so different in how they handle situations where someone needs to do something they don’t want to do.
The choice is available for each person to make, which also results in the feeling that they choose.
I repeat, the choice is available for each person to feel what they choose. We are not victims.
If you choose to complete the task while whining, complaining, and having a pity party, your feelings will more than likely result in anger, frustration, and resentment.
If you choose the opposite, upon completion of the task, you may find yourself feeling accomplished, proud, and productive.
Which option will you choose? Which feeling serves you?