LEAN IN AND LOVE FULLY
By nature, I am a grateful person. When November rolls around, gratitude is magnified. #givingthanks
What I am most thankful for is my circle of love, the people in my life who have my back, who get me. I don’t always have a good day. Sometimes I’m abrupt. I am innately a critical person, having the need to analyze people and situations and figure out the psychological “why” behind actions.
One thing I learned along the way is that it’s helpful to focus on the intention vs. the action alone. Maybe the person meant well, but the way you interpreted the action was negative. For example… you’re making dinner, let’s say chicken parm. You start getting the eggs, flour and breadcrumbs lined up and before you can finish, your husband comes into the kitchen to get a drink and he immediately sets up the dishes HE uses to bread the cutlets.
This is where your brain could go: Um, wait a minute. I’m making dinner. That’s not how I do it. I like the other dishes in the closet that connect and are designed for this. What the heck? Does he think I can’t bread the chicken correctly? I’m a bit peeved.
And here’s what he’s thinking: Oh, my goodness, I’m going to help my honey by setting up the dishes to bread the cutlets. She’ll think I’m a hero for helping her, even though I just got home and I’m on baby duty to take care of little Aidan.
His intention was to help. But, you don’t see that in the moment. You get offended and ask him to leave the kitchen and go back to Aidan.
I read recently that we’re all hard-wired to be negative and we have to consciously think positive thoughts to outweigh the negative and train our brains to be positive. Phew! Sometimes I think it’s just me. Why does my brain immediately, out of nowhere, go to negative thoughts? I’m astutely aware of it, too. I think the worst, then I step back, analyze and adjust my thinking. In the end, I usually find the bright side. Which makes me grateful.
The message of the day? It’s important to have people in your life that you can lean on and know they’ll be there no matter what. If they do something that irks you, step back and see if they were just trying to help. Lean in. Communicate. Love fully. And be grateful.
Tipsy Tuesday
Choose a focal point when you’re taking a photo. Then imagine that subject telling you to get down on its level. When you get on the level of your subject, you can get some really nice shots. This works well when photographing children, too. Move around. Get different perspectives.