Do you know what yours are? Those irritating behaviors, attitudes, and/or emotions that trip you up. Just when you think you have finally ‘matured’ and mastered them… they blindside you. Do you know what causes you to stumble? Whether or not you realize, you really do know, however it’s an issue of who’s in control – you or them.
Let me provide an example… patience. I have zilch. It’s not a point of pride because I constantly get into trouble because of it. I do not have it under control. And it really is silly because it typically is in areas that I don’t have control over but am a party to or recipient. Simply… it’s called if you don’t have control over the situation then your options are to depart or accept. Another example, for me, is blatant stupidity. Not misunderstanding, knowing better and still forging ahead. I have little tolerance when I see it in others and even less with myself. One really does know when one is behaving stupidly.
It seems that if you don’t have control over your stumbling stones you do need to be on the alert for when they emerge so that you can effectively respond – not just react. So often we only exasperate the situation by what we do once we are faced with one of our stones. And what we do is to react with scant thought. However, there is another path – squarely face those stones, acknowledge them for what they are and what they do, and develop the necessary skills to deal with them.
For each of us, we find our way out of our ‘predicament’ rather than ignoring the problem. Everyone emerges eventually, but the ‘how’ of emerging and the ‘condition’ are two of the aspects we can focus on. We all need to become more aware of what ‘sets us off’ or what it is that allows those irritating stones to dictate our reactions. It is possible to overcome, to hold our stones in check and become effective at responding.
…but, what do you think?
