Oh dear. The last straw landed. You veered off the road. You’re on your knees in the dirt, wondering how to get up and continue to carry the heavy load. The temptation to lean forward and topple onto your face, to give up altogether, looks pretty good right about now.
If you’re only in a ditch, don’t look around for a chasm.
You have options in a ditch. Shove off the heavy load, just for a few minutes. It’s not going anywhere. Have a sip of cool water. Wipe the sweat out of your eyes. Lean back and take in the stunning view of the sky. Breathe deeply without the burden of weight on your shoulders. Slow down.
Then consider your heavy load. Do some sorting. These straws here are so old they’re never going to provide anyone nourishment. Toss them blithely over your shoulder. Good riddance. And the load was ridiculously lopsided. Here, bundle this bit together neatly, and that bit, too, and the whole thing balances much more easily. Right, then. Off you go.
Focus on the stop, not the drop.
When something goes wrong and you feel exasperation and futility rise up, focus on the thing that went wrong. Don’t succumb to the allure of the deep drop that sucks everything else into the darkness with you. Just because the load was too heavy and you fell into a ditch doesn’t mean you’ll never get to the market, or your partner will kick you out of the cottage, or the villagers will shun you, or you’ll die poor. Fix the one thing. Adjust the load. Move on.
The ditch is a dip. The chasm is a choice.
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Pep Talk | Ditch the Chasm, on www.highlysensitivepower.com
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