Lately, I’ve noticed people are angry. Whether in general, or for a specific reason, it seems like everyone is on the verge of losing their shit. Perhaps this is because of….
…the upcoming presidential election, which promises to be a doozy…the high cost of, well, pretty much everything…the horrific wars happening in the world…the chaos of day to day living…the stress of going from one thing to the next without a break…the obligations of our jobs and families…the endless trends we feel we have to follow……the task of staying relevant on social media…the anxiety of not knowing if we can pay rent, the bills, groceries, the car payment this month…the toxic pressure to be fit and attractive…the inundation of advertisements…the constant second-guessing we do to ourselves about day-to-day decisions we make…the possibility of getting yet another letter from the HOA about the lawn…the existential crisis of our planet…
Doesn’t this feel crazy? I feel crazy just writing it all down, and I know there is much more I could list. As one acquaintance put it to me the other day, we are in the trenches, and things are HARD.
The other day, I witnessed a throw-down between two women regarding a phone. It was loud, unnecessary, and made everyone else around them super-uncomfortable. From an outside perspective, I could see both sides of the argument, but neither person was right in the way they treated the other. It truly feels like people are tiptoeing on the edge of sanity, and at the smallest provocation, feel justified in unleashing all their fury with abandon on those around them.
I am a yoga and meditation instructor and teach people strategies to stay centered in order to regulate their nervous systems; however I, too, lose my shit at times.
And just yesterday while driving, I blasted a guy with the horn when he wouldn’t let me over when I was trying to change lanes. The story I told myself was this guy was purposefully targeting ME and not letting ME over because he was a jerk. There are other possible reasons why he didn’t let me over, but my story became the truth and it set me off. He doesn’t know me from Adam, so why would I take something like this personally? But, we do this all the time.
Can we all just please take a breath, me included?
Before we speak or act, we need to THINK: T - is it true, H - is it helpful, I - is it inspiring, N - is it necessary, and K - is it kind (Elsey, 2021)? If what you are about to say or do does not fit within this framework, then maybe it is better to refrain so as to not put more negative energy out there. Breathe in the love, breathe out the hate.
This is a cliche, but it bears repeating: We are ALL going through something. Extending some compassion to ourselves first, then to others, is everything.
Elsey, E.L. (2021, December 15). THINK acronym for kinder and more effective communications
[Infographic]. The Coaching Tools Company. https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/think-acronym-for-kinder-and-more-effective-communications/
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