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The Busy PT's Guide to Finding Balance

Try It, You'll Like It

Published April 22, 2008 8:08 AM by Janey Goude

"When you catch yourself becoming irritated or disturbed at circumstances, stop and laugh at the little things that steal your peace." - Debi Pearl

Driving down the road last week, I caught myself being entertained by other drivers.  Granted, I wasn't in a hurry and I wasn't in traffic.  I smiled remembering the times I'd caught people picking their nose or singing.  Then I wondered how much more relaxed my rush hour drives would be if I would take this same attitude of being entertained rather than being annoyed. 

Let's face it, when you are in gridlock, you aren't going anywhere any faster if you get ticked. You just get to sit there ticked instead of happy. My favorite saying is, "Every minute you spend angry is 60 seconds of happiness you can never get back." So, turn on the radio and start singing. Maybe you'll be the entertainment for the guy sitting in the car next to you!  Or turn to your favorite talk show. Or pop in a book on tape. Or  you could just study the people in the cars around you and marvel at their idiosyncrasies.

If you can't change it, you might as well embrace it. When you feel yourself getting angry, stop. Then find something that makes you laugh...or at least smile. Just the act of smiling will help you relax and de-stress.  Try it. You'll like it!

2 comments

Michelle,

I don't know if you will ever see this...this is so long overdue (your comment appeared while I was recovering from an unexpected hospitalization, still trying to get "caught up"!).  But I had to thank you for your comment and the origin of the quote!   So many lost 60 seconds in my life...re-framing my mind is an ongoing effort :-)

I appreciate you spending 60 seconds here.  I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Warmly,

Janey

Janey Goude July 4, 2008 12:57 AM

You have offered a very good example of a way of re-framing the mind here.  Rather than allowing the external stressors in our lives to get the best of us, we can re-frame the way we react to situations by  looking at things in a lighter way.  Humor is a great way to reduce stress and can apply at home or work.  It improves breathing and pumps endorphins into the bloodstream, which are the body's natural pain killers.  By the way, that is my all time favorite Ralph Waldo Emerson Quote  : )

Michelle Wyse April 24, 2008 12:23 AM
La Porte IN

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