It Will If I Let It - Grasshopper

Has anyone ever commented on a situation you were in by saying, “That must drive you nuts”? The revealing answer to that observation is: “It will if I let it.”

The following is as much of a law as gravity but we don’t pay much attention to it: It’s not what happens to you but your reaction to what happens that drives you batty.

 

We’ve all heard of “pain and suffering” but I don’t ever recall those terms as being clearly defined. Pain is physical pain and suffering is emotional pain. One emanates from your body; the other from your head.

 

The suffering that runs around in your head is the pain that lingers longest. You let it stay in place by giving it a never-ending voice. That means you talk about it incessantly.

 

The physical pain may have disappeared eons ago but the mental anguish gets a fresh lease on life with each sunrise because you feed and clothe it.

 

“Letting it” is continuing to tell the story about it. There comes a time in every story for it to end. The sooner you get to the ending, the less suffering you will endure.

 

The stories are usually justified by some version of the following: “And that’s why I am the way I am.”

 

“I’m a sad, fat, unhappy mess because (fill in the justification).” The longer you let yourself tell that story, the farther away you’ll be from any light on the horizon.

 

Whether you’re reiterating that story to yourself or another for the umpteenth time, it has the same effect: keeping you tethered to your drama.

 

Let me end this with a Q & A: Would you like to have your suffering end its long ride? Begin by letting your story go out with the tide.

 

All the best,

John