Imagine this: You just finished a day of work. You had a long day and head home, which is a 40-minute drive. You hit traffic and it is raining. This is what you see ahead of you:
What thoughts enter your mind?
For most of us our initial reaction is to let this bother us. We become upset, irritated, and annoyed. This stresses us out even more than we already are from our long day at work. The 40-minute drive home suddenly feels like it has doubled. We become agitated, tense, and do not arrive home in a good mood. I know when I am in this state I tend to easily forget errands that I have to run on the way home and also become upset with all of the other cars around me. Suddenly in my mind I am a professional driver and everyone else has no clue how to drive. Both of these situations just upset me even more.
What if we were able to change our mindset? What if we changed the way we view the above image and the situation? This was actually a view that I had not too long ago after a long day of work. I had a 40-minute drive ahead of me and hit traffic right away in the rain. I could have chose option 1, which I mentioned above. However, I did not want to have a stressful drive home and arrive home in a bad mood. I had a CHOICE in the matter. Instead of reacting to the situation around me I decided to respond.
I didn’t view my drive home as a long, dreadful, rainy, and stressful situation. Instead I saw an opportunity to have a dance party in my car! I was able to pop in my throwback CD’s and jam out. I sang my heart out and danced the whole drive home.
*I don’t recommend dancing too crazy if you’re driving though, SAFETY FIRST!
Guess how my drive went from then on? It FLEW BY! It seemed actually shorter because I was able to enjoy myself. There were even more songs that I was hoping to sing and dance to. I was not annoyed with the cars around me and arrived home in a positive mood. I decided during that drive to control the situation the best way that I could; which was by changing my mindset and having power over my attitude.
Imagine if we took the opportunity to decide how we wanted to feel and RESPONDED instead of REACTING. No matter what the situation is:
– A big presentation
– An interview
– A game/performance
– When something is not going the way we planned
– After making a mistake
– A kid having a temper tantrum
– A stressful day at work
– A traffic filled car ride home in the rain
During stressful, upsetting, and anxiety-provoking situations we always have a CHOICE. We can let the situation dictate our emotions OR we can choose what emotions we want to feel to overcome the situation. Maybe listening to music and dancing is not your thing. Find out what is though. What lifts you up? What brightens your mood or calms you down? Find what works and use it to your advantage.
Remember: We can’t control the situation but we can control how we RESPOND to it.
Master your mindset to master the moment everyone!