The challenge: to learn calmness in ALL situations in life
Remaining positive no matter what life throws at you, is hard. How many times per day are we “attacked” by negative people? What about negative situations or ones that bring about stress or frustration? What about with relationships of close people that bring drama and upset to your life ? We ALL have experienced this, no one is exempt from it. But what if we could respond to any of these situations with a state of peace and not anger? Where we could walk away from it and not “stew” over the anger inside? Imagine couples that do not stay angry for days on end. Families who don’t grow bitter towards one another. Sometimes sounds to unreal. But in reality this is feasible with the right approach.
Why make the change:
I think we all know or should know the effects of negative stress in our life. High stress levels lead to heart disease, depression, and obesity. Focusing on the negative thing in our life will only lead us further into a life of despair. We need to focus on the positive things in our lives. We also need to realize that life happens. Bad things happen. People are generally unhappy, angry individuals and sometimes you are going to get caught in the cross roads. Your best bet is to learn to be calm. Choose to be positive and calm when faced with a negative in life.
How to make the change:
How do we go about making the change to calmness in ANY and ALL situations in life?
- Learn to pray. If we can learn to give away our worries and frustrations to God, that can be the first step to bringing peace of mind and a better perspective to having calmness in life.
- Learn to detach. When faced with a negative situation where your first response is anger, detach yourself. Think about the situation as a whole, instead of just your tiny part that is affecting you. You look at all of the different facets of the problem and view them as an observer without judgement.
- Take a breather. If you find yourself getting angry or emotionally upset over an issue, take a step back and take a few breaths. Sometimes that will mean you have to tell a person, that you need a minute and will be right back. Get yourself together and come back ready to respond in a positive light. If it is an email or text, let it sit, take a few moments to breathe and then respond.
- Let things roll off of you. Realize that people who are angry and rude have bad days. Their problems do not have to be yours. If someone is mean, you don’t have to be mean back. Sometimes the best response is a smile. The bible talks about “reaping coals of fire” on our enemies. If we don’t respond negatively to people, but do so in a positive light, it is like reaping coals of fire on someone’s head.
- Get some understanding. If someone says something mean to you, instead of taking it personally, understand that you are not the center of this person’s world, you just happen to be the target of their frustration. They could be having a bad day, having marital problems, frustrated in their own walk with God, or maybe even not understanding the issue very well.
People ALWAYS have a reason for anger and rudeness. If you can understand what is the core of that, it is much easier to deal with. Be the better person and experience calmness when faced with any situation in your life.
