Dealing with the pain of dissapointment

A while back I was talking with my husband Erik about the pain of disappointment–whether toward ourselves or the actions of others. I mentioned that there are many ways to deal with that pain:
* eating to excess (not healthy),
* exercising (typically beneficial),
* taking drugs (usually harmful unless necessary for mental stability),
* talking it over with a trusted friend (often helpful),
* planning and/or taking action (perhaps helpful, perhaps risky if done in the heat of the moment),
* etc. etc. ad infinitum.
I mentioned to him that it had occurred to me earlier that the simplest (and perhaps best) way to soften the pain of disappointment is to forgive people, including ourselves. We are where we are–emotionally, mentally, physically, politically, religiously, financially, pet-peevishly, TV-preferencely–in any given moment. The way we act in specific situations is simply a product of our state of being in that moment–determined by either our current emotional terrain, our well-traveled [i.e. habitual] synaptic highways, our internalized beliefs–whether conscious or subconscious, our fears, our passions, etc.. Rather than condemning ourselves or others, rather than feeling hurt by people’s choices and actions, we can forgive them–remembering, “The reality is, this is where they are” or “In their shoes (having acquired all of their past experiences, present circumstances, personality traits, and established thought processes), there’s no doubt I would act identically to them.” That’s called empathy, and it’s the greatest skill (and potential personal trait) one can acquire to try and improve relationships . . .

It is easier said than done, for sure. But the opposite, i.e. judging others and/or trying to force them to be “like we are” in this present moment—in the (sub)conscious hope of feeling validated—is an exercise in futility as well as disrespect. Being more self-aware, we can stop ourselves from judging, stop ourselves from feeling pain in human behavior, and instead ask, “How can I be of help?”

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What it would be like without them

I like to remain still after waking, to listen to my breathing and then wait to see which thoughts percolate up to my conscious mind. After my nap this afternoon, one of the thoughts that emerged was a “how to” for appreciating one’s current life: envisioning what it would be like without some of the people who currently grace it. I tried it, and it worked! I thought of how quickly it will be when our kids are grown and no longer in our home, which tuned my heart to them. I tried to imagine how they feel, which made me acutely interested in their happiness. When one of the kids ran upstairs to tell me of her plan to have a tea party with her little brother, I was ready to give her my rapt attention. It is a delight to actively enjoy the people in one’s life!

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Feeling pissed? Do P.I.S.T.

Feeling pissed (“angry, fed up”–per the Online Etymological Dictionary) is an opportunity to do P.I.S.T.: Pollyanna-Ish Self-Talk.

I repeat:  Feeling pissed?  Do P.I.S.T.

‘How does one do P.I.S.T?’ you ask yourself.  You do it by asking yourself,  ‘What can I be glad about in this situation?’  That is Pollyanna’s “Glad Game.”   (Never heard of it? It’s in the book that bears her name! A great read!)

Remember that life teaches us many things.  Find those things–make it a game!  I’m hoping to remember this form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, myself.  It’s kind of . . . catchy. 😉

Go ahead and get pissed, but then do PIST!

[Note: These terms just occurred to me as I was replying to my niece’s Facebook post warning against mixing soda pop and laptop use. My personal muse must be working overtime! Ha ha! :-)]

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