Thoughts
There are lots of critics out there. We must make decisions based on our own value system and needs. I found myself judging others based on their decisions but then was able to take perspective and recognize that their reasoning was not without rationale and was simply different than mine. I also noticed that it took me some time to stop listening to others and listen to my own intuition. Perfection is an unattainable goal.
Since noticing my racing mind I have been reminded of all the skills that I personally use to manage anxiety in stressful times. I was also reminded that there is no way to get your life “perfect” and avoid stress. As much as I would like to believe that I can manufacture my life to avoid anxiety, I know I cannot. And once again, I am reminded that I can only control me and I can’t control the weather, a virus or other people, just me. What I can do is notice my emotions (avoiding denial), honor them (Hello anxiety, thanks for reminding me to be careful.), and let them pass (they always do.) I can also spend time enjoying the breaks between and recovering and restoring my emotional energy.
Being our authentic selves is not easy. So many of us don’t really know who we are and what we want we can’t see our authentic selves. God bless those of you who have this down. It is a daily struggle for me and takes awareness (hence my mindfulness practice – had to get that in there!) and a willingness to be honest and the ability to let go of worrying about what other people think.
My opinion is that Letting Go is really about letting go of control and outcome but not actually closing a relationship or experience down completely. When we no longer have an investment in the outcome we can more fully enjoy the experience and be in the moment.
On Sunday, I reluctantly went to see American Sniper with my husband. I say reluctantly because I was afraid the movie would depress me and I really didn’t want to spend the energy cheering myself up. All the hoopla made me believe that there would be some major injustices or glorification of war depicted in the film, so I was surprised by what my psychotherapist mind did see in the movie…resilience.
