We all experience it (with some being able to acknowledge it), yet it’s something extremely difficult to control.
A family member, friend or a loved one says or does an action that instantly puts you in a bad mood.
Whether you’re immediately filled with anger or are frustrated and annoyed, the fact of the matter is that it has completely affected your present state of being.
Who’s to blame for this sense of outrage that you feel pumping deep within every vein?
The person to point the finger at is yourself.
Each and every one of us has the ability to control our emotions. It’s entirely up to you to do so.
Think about this for a second.
You’re walking into a friends house and as soon as you enter through the front door, their dog begins to bark at you aggressively.
You smile and say Hi to the dog, maybe even give it a pet or two.
But why? This dog is clearly barking at you for a reason, one being that it doesn’t seem to like you at this very moment. Yet your mood is perfectly sound.
Subconsciously you’ve already made the decision that it’s just a dog and that getting upset or feeling insulted by it’s actions would be silly.
Those accepted and prompt reactions and rationalizations can be harnessed, controlled and applied towards people, as well as any predicament that you may find yourself in.
F THE BS: It’s time to eliminate these emotional triggers from the equation (you can thank the book A Guide to the Good Life for these tips!)
The next time you find yourself in a situation where someone has just made a statement that potentially insults you, pause for a moment before reacting or responding.
Think to yourself…
Is what was just said true? If so, then there’s not much to be upset or insulted about.
Next ask yourself – how informed is the insulter on this specific topic? Could it be that this is simply the way they view and sincerely see things?
If you’re having a difficult time determining the honest answers to the two questions above, ask yourself – Do I respect and value this person’s opinion? If you do, then you shouldn’t take what was said the wrong way.
The moral of the lesson here is that YOU are the source of any sting or burn that is felt from the insult. If you can take the few seconds to ask yourself the questions above, more likely than not you’ll come to discover that there’s nothing to get offended about.
Even more so, if the persons remarks were insulting and you feel strongly that they aren’t true then why allow this unreliable person to negatively affect your character? If anything, you should feel sorry for them.
There’s nothing stopping you from taking a different approach and rewiring your thoughts and triggers into subconsciously accepting that a person’s insults carry no harm to you, especially those that aren’t true to begin with!
Just think about the non-insulting barking dog 🙂
We only have so much time to live our lives. Take control of your internal intelligence and apply it’s capabilities to these external situations. This way you ensure that the ball is always in your court when it comes to your emotions and how you feel at any given moment, regardless of the circumstances.
“Who then is invincible? The one who cannot be upset by anything outside their reasoned choice.” Epictetus: