One day recently I rushed to an appointment feeling completely frazzled. As I locked my car and walked into my eye doctor’s building, I thought, why am I so stressed out?
My next thought was: I didn’t have time to eat.
As I sat in the waiting room, hungry, I decided to look at this thought. It made me feel really out of control, like all the forces in the world were against me. A pretty horrible feeling.
So, is it true?
No.
It’s not true that I didn’t have time to eat. I asked my babysitter to come early so I’d have time to throw a sandwich together or do whatever I needed to do to get to my appointment without any stress or drama.
Jane came to the house at the appointed time. She’s very good with my son and he loves her. But did I hand my son over to her when she got to the house? Nope. After Jane and Joe greeted each other, I told Jane he’d just woken up. Then I took him into his room, got him changed, dressed, put on his shoes, and brought him back to the living room. Then of course I had to tell Jane everything that was available in the fridge and cupboards for lunch, even though she’s been here many times and knows the routine.
By the time I left the house I had just enough time to get to my appointment.
As soon as I realized that it was my choice not to eat lunch before my appointment, I felt better. If I made that choice, then the next time I am in that situation, I can make a different choice and have a different outcome.
I’m going to keep looking for places in my life where I tell myself I have no control.
Is there an area in your life where you tell yourself you have no control, but you really do? Take a look at your thoughts and see where you are telling yourself lies. I hope you’ll feel better as soon as you do. I did.