Pet Peeves Post

Today is the day I wanted to share with you my list of pet peeves.  The things that bother me to the point of insanity.  Why would I want to post these you may ask?  Well because over the next couple of weeks I am going to search for a way that I can shift my thinking and not let these be my problem any more.  I will retrain myself so that I do not react the same way each time as that reaction does not serve me well.

So here it goes....

1.  Being Late...If I even think that I am going to be late I can feel myself getting anxious, annoyed and upset.  Actually, that is a lie.  I begin to morph into Medusa.  Or better yet Medusa's ugly step sister who could spit venom everywhere.  It is very rare that I am late and when there is even the slightest chance of me being late...I am notifying those who would be waiting on me.

2.  Late people.  For those of you know me, you know all too well that my husband runs in an entirely different time zone than anyone else we know.  He can turn four minutes into forty.  But I married him  So I get to deal with it for the next 50+ years.  The reason late people bother me so much is that when they keep people waiting it seems to say that their time is more valuable than that of those who are waiting.  And I am not okay with that.  I plan my day around appointments, I factor in drive times, construction and other road related issues.  Why can't others?

3.  Toxic Waste Dumpers.  I am sure that you have people like them in your life.  I am guilty of this on occasion as well. They call you up or text you...spouting off all the negative things that you can possibly imagine.  They go on and on and on.  They want you to lend a sympathetic ear.  To offer solutions regarding their particular situation.  And the whole time...they never once inquired as to how you are doing.  At the very least...say Hello before you start dumping all your shit on me. Even though I am a brightside/silver lining type of person....there are days where I have my own stuff going on and I may like to discuss it.

4.  Negativity as a default mindset.  I understand that the vast majority of people always see things in a negative light before they can see the bright side.  That they first have to look at the situation and only see what is WRONG with it.  And then they look at worst case scenario and spend their energy there.  And finally they spend a great deal of energy living their life as if the worst case scenario has already occurred.  Only after that gets old do they start to see things in a positive light. My first reaction to a situation is always the negative default however, I only stay there for under a minute.  I start to see what the lesson is that is hidden in the situation.  Find The Lesson, Learn The Lesson, Live The Lesson.  And I get that it is indeed much easier for me to think positively because I have been actively working on changing my thoughts and my mindset since 2007.  I am getting to be pretty darn good at it.  Of course there is always room for improvement but if I can change my thoughts anyone can.

So in the next half of the year it is my goal to work on my reaction to the thought of being late.  Other people are late.  They don't have a panic attack.  So I can grant myself permission to be late if it happens.  If I plan to be on time, I account for all the circumstances within my control and still...I am late...and I will live through it.

I will stop being upset if others are late to meet me.  That is there time management issue.  I do not need to make it my issue.  I can set boundaries and ask for them to keep in mind that my schedule is important to me and that I have x amount of time to meet with them and if they are late that cuts down on that amount of time.  I can also confirm appointments an hour in advance and leave if someone is more than 15 minutes late.  And I can bring some work to do while I am waiting on someone.

When it comes to Toxic Waste Dumpers...I can set better boundaries.  Someone may want to dump on me...but I don't need to listen.  Nor do I have to respond.  Or I can tell them...that is nice..sandwich it between two positives.

And for the negative mindset...I can lead by example and hope that my way of thinking rubs off on them.

Do you have any other suggestions?  What about you?  Do you have any pet peeves that wear on you?

Much Love,
Lisa