Sometimes I think we all have a tendency to overreact to the things we encounter in life. We experience suffering, not necessarily from what happens to us, but from our reaction to it.
This is actually good news, because you are in control of how you respond to situations.
Do you ever find yourself blowing things out of proportion? Something happens, and you have a huge response to it.
You start to get really stressed out.
You start to get angry.
You start to get anxious.
You start to ruminate on it, and it begins taking up a lot of your time, your energy and your day.
When you feel yourself start to react in this way pause and ask yourself one very important question:
How important is it?
Before you start going down the rabbit hole with this situation and let it take over your body, your mind and the rest of your day, try to right-size it.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Does this reaction really fit the situation, and is it worth it?
- Is the cost to my wellbeing going to be worth it in the long run?
- Is this situation worth ruining my day over? Is it worth ruining the next couple of days?
Sometimes the answer might be yes. Sometimes what happened really is a big deal that justifies a big response.
But often, that’s not the case.
Often, we let little things get under our skin and gnaw at us, when in reality, they aren’t really that important. But if you can take a moment to pause, take a step back, try to see the big picture, and ask yourself how important is it, then you might be able to right-size your response.
Then, hopefully, you will be able to continue with the rest of your day or week, and let it go, without letting the situation steal your energy and joy.
I hope the next time you catch yourself going down that rabbit hole, you can pause and ask yourself how important is it.
Be well,
Daniela
