Railing against reality is the global pastime. We all do it; it's a matter of degrees. To warm up to reality a bit more, we need a different response.

Reality comes in all shapes and sizes and often it's not attractive to us. Too often we go into our "shouldn't be" mode and nothing gets accomplished except wearing ourselves out with weary.

 

How we typically respond to reality results in typical results - shaking our fists at windmills. If we could put a generator on that activity, we would solve the world's energy problems immediately.

 

Reality isn't going to stop happening and it seems to me that our response to it is the only variable we have any control over. If our reaction remains typical, then we can expect more of the same results. Reminds me of golf . . .

 

The typical response to a bad shot is a litany of expletives that, left unchecked, can, as Mark Twain reminded us, spoil a good walk. It's common to have a less than elegant response to a lousy shot, but it's what comes next that will determine if you go into a downward spiral or not.

 

The reality is that your shot went into the woods. Railing against it will not change it no matter how long and vociferous your rant. It's best to notice that fact and choose a different response; otherwise you'll go round and round in your head for the entire round.

 

An atypical response is a deeper response. The typical one that comes to you instantly is a surface response, one that's been conditioned to imperfection. It's an imperfect world and typical responses to the realities it presents will get you what you got last time - a diversion from moving forward.

 

Stop what you are doing and try this: Think of a typical response you have to something. Now let it go by and wait for a different response to present itself. If the second response is not to your liking, wait for the third or fourth or the fifth. This is responding atypically and the result you get will be different.

 

If you want things to be different, you have to respond to reality differently; otherwise you know precisely what you'll get. Once you realize you have a choice in how you respond, your typical response is no longer etched in stone and neither are its results.

 

There is a difference between "a typical" response and an "atypical" one.  Find out first hand what that difference is and you will have less fistfights with reality.

 

All the best,

John