Awhile back, in the middle of a tense conversation with my sweetie, I could feel my mood going lower and lower. Instead of engaging fully in what was quickly becoming an argument, I instead got curious.
What would it take to not go to a low mood?
Instead of firing back my good argument, I sat quietly, looking at the clouds. Really looking, being present to the wonder of the clouds. All of the sudden, my argument became irrelevant. In an instant, I lost interest in proving my point.
I told him I didn’t need to go on, that I could let it go. And I did. Just like that. My mood immediately bounced back up.
Some of my best friends are trees and clouds. The
more time I spend outside, the more present I become.
The more present I am, the less I get upset with the
“small stuff.”
What had happened? How did I access that beautiful miracle? I became more interested in a high mood and connection (to the clouds, to me, to him) than in “winning” an argument. I held the situation lightly and became present to the moment. In the preciousness of the moment, the argument made no sense.
When we begin to notice more consistently that our innate well-being is always available, we naturally begin to make more choices consistent with it.
So, what about you? What does this bring up for you?
Feel free to post your comments, insights and experiences below.
==========================
Are you in the Denver area?
Want to spend an afternoon diving into your strengths?
Or diving a bit deeper if you’ve been playing with yours for awhile?
We have a few spaces left in an experiential StrengthsFinder workshop on Wed, June 25.
Is one of them yours? Come play with us!
http://www.annstrong.com/strong-you-strong-life
==========================
My book, “Thriving Work” is now available
on Kindle at Amazon for just $3.99:
Click here to order
