On my way to a meeting today, I was stopped at a red light, waiting to make a left hand turn. I had enough time to get to my destination, so I wasn’t in a rush.
As I waited, along came a large, heavy, very slow truck, traveling on the road on which I was going to turn.
“Oh great!” I thought. Now I am going to be stuck behind this thing and I am just barely going to get to my meeting on time.
As I stared at the slow moving vehicle, it dawned on me that it would probably be a good idea if I looked at the situation in a different way.
Instead of seeing the truck as a hindrance, I told myself that I should appreciate the fact that we have such vehicles to transport large, heavy objects. As soon as I turned my negative and frustrating thoughts to something more positive, a wonderful thing happened – I immediately felt better. I no longer felt “stuck” but rather thankful for the diversity of my surroundings.
I thought about how this simple situation could relate to our everyday lives.
If you are feeling stuck, here are some ideas that will reduce negativity and frustration….
Plan for the unexpected
Give yourself time to plan or to get to your destination, however be flexible enough to know that something may slow you down or take you on a different path.
Appreciate the opportunity
As I wrote in my blog about, The Detour, if you are diverted onto a new route, appreciate the opportunity and recognize how much you are learning
Change your attitude
Try not to get frustrated with an unexpected circumstance or disruption. Try to see the positive in the new direction.
Slow down
There seems to be a rush for everything nowadays. Where are we going so quickly? Don’t be in such a hurry to let a small hurdle become a major stumbling block.
Don’t take yourself too seriously
When we take ourselves too seriously, it can be more difficult to cope with difficult situations. If we take ourselves too seriously, we can also become self-important and think the weight of the world is on our shoulders.
Have a sense of humour
If we can recognize the humorous things, even in challenging circumstances, we can navigate through the ups and downs easier and see the silver lining when things don’t go the way we want them to.
~ Lisa
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