How You Respond Makes The Difference

Energy. I like to surround myself with a lot of it, the good, the great, the creative and beautiful kind, but as we all know, otherwise is inevitable. Negative energy is 24/7 relentless, intently working to sabotage us if we let it. What makes the difference in our stress levels is how we choose to respond to it, including ignoring it.

While we may think that we’re being positive, or well-intentioned when responding, at times our own negative energy comes to the surface, heating every word spoken, sometimes without us even fully knowing just how ugly we’ve become. Is it always easy to admit when you’re wrong? Who’s never gotten mad and said some things that they realized later on wasn’t the best thing to say?

We could choose to respond better and some of us do, but too often, we opt out and react with the first thing that fills our spirit. For some of us, its some level of anger, or display of defensiveness, as opposed to simply taking things in and allowing it to fully process.  Somehow, yelling or worst tends to feel better in that moment of hurt, rage or out right disappointment. The thing is, while we’re experiencing some type of bad or negative energy in the presence of another human being, it IS possible to ask ourselves, “Will what I’m about to say, heal or hurt, will it build or break?”  and  “Am I thinking, speaking or doing to cut into nerves of the other person, or am I expressing myself to create understanding, peace and resolve? What is more important?

I’m a believer of the powers of the universe and that it ensures that our offenders, violators, haters and trouble makers will encounter the kind of energy that they’ve put into the universe, or in our our path. We need not allow negativity to infect, possess and drive us off a mental cliff, especially because we can choose to not internalize, instigate or perpetuate it, we really can. We only get ONE life! Is any minute of it worth spending on responding erratically or unproductively to whatever has managed to get underneath our skin?

“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” -Lincoln

 Reposted with permission from the author.