Letting It Be
One of the most difficult things to learn in life is acceptance - the ability to just let it be. Every day we encounter people and events that weigh on our peace of mind. Do we let them be? Or do we fret about them?
Now it's important to clarify that when I say "letting it be", I don't mean meekly swallowing all the bitter pills that are forced into your mouth. It's crucial that we understand what we can change and what we can't.
Worrying about your next sales deal is reasonable enough, and this is an instance when worrying can be beneficial. Worry can motivate you to sharpen your skills, put more effort into planning your presentation, and so on.
But vexing about the impossible traffic is plainly pointless. Whether you get upset about it or not, the traffic is going to move when it's going to move; there is nothing you can do to make it go any faster.
As someone once said, we should all wish for the wisdom to know the difference between what we can change and what we can't, and then have the serenity to accept the things we cannot change. We should all understand when we should be climbing over the wall instead of banging our heads against it.
Once we know that something is beyond our power, we should all do better to learn how to let it be. This kind of acceptance sees difficult times as lesson times. This kind of acceptance allows things to unfold naturally. This kind of acceptance learns the lesson, releases the negative emotions and moves on.
When problems threaten to break our peace of mind, most of us tend to focus on the problem, and not on the good things we still have. Consequently, some of us go on to destroy those good things because the problem we're preoccupied with augers a bleak future.
But the next time something or someone is getting you down, shift your focus to something else - your family, your spouse, your friends, your freedom, your health. Someone once shared with me a handy trick to instantly make yourself feel better when you're upset - simply visit a hospital. You'll realize just how insignificant your problems are when you're there. Seeing people who are ill, incapacitated, on their deathbeds, grieving relatives, despondent family members. How fortunate are you compared to them? You have your health, you can do things you love, you can eat whatever you want, you can see your loved ones and have a good time with them, show them how much they mean to you! How many people in the hospital wish they were in your shoes?