Negativity sucks away energy. If part of the negativity stems from your attitude or perspective, commit yourself at the beginning of each day and each activity to find something positive in yourself and in others around you. If the people around you are negative and you can’t change that, either remove yourself from the situation or view it simply as one obstacle you face in pursuing your own potential. Stay focused on your own goals and make the best of the situation. Terry Orlick
Yesterday I talked about routines and how I came to realize their value.
Last week when I was staying with family I came to another realization. I am very sensitive to the energies around me.
Now before you discount me as some New Age quack, hear me out.
Due to some negative things I have went through in my life that I’d rather not share here and now, I can’t handle tense situations. It’s like I used up all my tolerance for them during this previous experience. I can’t handle it even if the tension/angry/strife is not aimed at me.
The short story of what happened last week is I was visiting some family members and was present when a pretty big argument broke out. Even though the fight had nothing to do with me, it still made me sick.
I mean I was physically ill. My stomach was in a knot, I had a headache, felt scatterbrained and exhausted after the confrontation, (which lasted a few hours) was over.
That’s what tension and negativity does to me. That’s why my old day job was such a bad fit, I was constantly bombarded with negative energy day in, day out.
When I say negative energy, I don’t mean normal stress. Like occasionally rushing to get somewhere because I am running late or buckling down to write to meet a deadline.
I literally mean tension and negative energy in the form of anger, hostility and belittling. Dysfunction. Things humans shouldn’t do to one another, but do.
After I removed myself from the tense scene at my relative’s house, I realized while I don’t live that way, there will be times when I may be exposed to tension, namely, when I am visiting my family.
I realized I need to get back to yoga and meditation, something I have practiced in the past when my life was full of good stress, like the summer when I was working full-time, going to school full-time and planning my wedding!
Even though I’ve removed stress from my daily life, I need to practice these stress releasing techniques on a regular basis so when I do encounter tension, maybe it won’t impact me in such a negative, physical way.
How do you handle tense situations beyond your control? If you’d like to share your response, I’d love to hear from you via one of the contact methods listed below.
Amanda Bretz 