April 20, 2011

"REACT POSITIVELY!"

How many times do you kick yourself in the butt because of the way you have reacted to a situation? How many times do you tell yourself that you should have done or said something differently? Maybe you should have said nothing and walked away, or maybe you should have said something instead of remaining silent. Sometimes, our emotions and feelings get the better of us, and we sometimes react to situations in anger or many other negative ways. Learning to react positively in high pressure situations is a lifelong journey, but it is one that can be mastered.

In the past if someone made me angry, usually by saying or doing something that I did not like, I would always voice my opposition. I had no problem letting the person who offended me know that they were wrong, or that I felt that they were wrong. I would not care how I got my opinion across, either via phone call, letter, email, or text message, but I would tell the other person repeatedly that they were wrong. Most of the times, my words would fall on def ears, and this would make me react in more negative ways.

Looking back, I am not sure why I had to react so negatively when someone would disagree with me, or I disagreed with them. For some reason, I always had to be right, and when I wasn't, I would react negatively. Through the years, I have learned that the way I was reacting was causing quite a bit of turmoil and unhappiness in my life. I came to the conclusion that I needed to change how I react to certain situations, and I truly think I am growing in that area of my life.

Yesterday I received a letter in the mail that in the past would have set me off, and I would have called the individual who sent it and would have given her a piece of my mind. However, I simply read the letter, understood what the person was trying to say, and threw it in the trash. I did not get angry. I did not call anyone and  yell at them. I simply did not give it any more thought. I am growing and learning to react to situations in a more positive manner.