We’re now more than 2/3rds through winter, which is good news for those who find the dark winter months heavy going.
Often at this time of year, we can find we’re a bit more miserable and fed up with everything.
A bit more moody, a little more short-tempered.
This week’s Mental Sunshine is something to consider, and perhaps to practice so that we can feel a little less grumpy.
Often when we feel low, we take things more personally.
A group of people who’ve stopped in the middle of the pavement to have a chat are suddenly deliberately standing in our way.
A grumpy supermarket assistant obviously dislikes us intensely.
That person who splashed us in their car this morning was clearly trying to ruin our best trousers.
We begin to feel like the victim in every possible situation.
It’s really easy to slip down this slope and end up feeling like there’s no hope
“the entire world is out to get us…”
The reality is quite different though.
Actually most people are unaware we exist –
They’re not out to get us; they just haven’t considered us.
Those people standing in the way on the pavement may not have seen each other for years
They’ve just bumped into each other and are catching up on a decade of personal news.
Perhaps one of them is grieving a loved one and the others are offering support.
Perhaps one of them is going through a terrible relationship break-up and the others are helping them through it
Maybe one of them has suddenly begun having a panic attack, and the people around them are shielding them from the world around them.
All of these scenarios place someone else at the centre of the story.
None of these scenarios involve anyone else having a personal vendetta against you, the person in a hurry to get along the street on your lunch break.
Doesn’t it feel better to think of it that way?
This week, whenever you get that horrible feeling of “why me!” try to turn it around and think of three possible different stories.
Practice not taking it personally.
The fact is, it doesn’t even matter whether it was personal or not.
What matters is how you choose to perceive it.
So why not choose to see it as something that has no bearing on your life at all!