A lot of stress in our day comes from the way other people are acting. They cut us off in traffic, don’t leave us enough room to get our car out, push in front of us in a queue or act in a dozen other selfish ways. All of these things can cause a stress reaction in our bodies: we get angry, our heart beats faster, our blood pressure rises, we say angry things or act aggressively towards those people. The situation seems to warrant how we feel in that moment and the moments afterwards as we go about our day. We then find ourselves snapping at the kids, our workmates, even our friends.
The secret to maintaining peace is to find a way to respond to this situation rather than just reacting in a predetermined way. If we do not, we are giving away our power to control our own emotions and mood. The person who did something to us is then deciding how we feel in that moment and throughout that day.
We can’t change how other people act but we can change how we respond and can therefore choose our own emotional response to a situation. By being more conscious of where our reactions are coming from we can work towards maintaining a more peaceful internal environment and find peace and happiness where before there was anger and hurtful emotions.
It’s not about letting people ‘get away with’ however they are treating you; it’s about giving you the power to control your own emotions and then respond more effectively to the situation. It’s also not a hard practice to master.
More on this in next week’s postings. In the meantime when a situation arises that causes you some degree of stress try to become aware of your reaction and how it makes you feel. Ask yourself why you may be reacting this way and if you like the way it makes you feel.
Yours in finding peace and happiness,
Meg
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