Always Evolve

There is only 14 months difference between me and one of my brothers. So, a little story. In my early elementary school days, one of his greatest thrills was to hide around a corner and scare the sh@% out of me when I rounded it. Can not even tell you how long this ‘phase’ lasted, but It infuriated me. It had my blood boiling because I didn’t like being startled. Being startled was a sign of weakness in my school-aged mind. And although there is no memory of a start date, I do remember when I decided it would end.

And on that day, I held guard….all day. It was going to happen; I just didn’t know when.

Like every other day, he was lying in wait – and then out he popped. But this time, there was no response on my end. Not a flinch. At least not a detectable one. No reaction whatsoever. No yelling. No nothing.

He simply walked away. From that day on, it never happened again.

So, who in your life knows just which buttons to push? What gets you riled up and ready to throw punches? Is it worthy of the reaction it elicits? If it is, keep on rockin’ it. If it is not, ask yourself, what do you want to do instead? What might be an alternative response? How do you want to proceed going forward? And then – ask yourself what is really going on and why? Be honest and be sure to take away the self-judgment. Understand what happens so that you can then release it. Release it knowing that you are now a bit wiser.

Congratulations. You just experienced a personal evolution. Way to go.