BLAM!

Here's one I hear a lot:

"I've been really down!  I was in a great mood, and then *BLAM* a friend called to say hello … and in the process told me something that really made me feel awful."

"I guess I'm just too sensitive…"

Now, think about this one…

If you're feeling good and talk to someone and then feel rotten, isn't it possible that making you feel bad is at least a teensy, tiny part of their agenda?

What do ya say?

Could you possibly accept this?

How might it change things?

THIS TIME IT WILL BE DIFFERENT…

"Every time I go to dinner with them I come away depressed… but I just knew," she insisted," this time it would be different."

Uh huh…

Ever hear this one:

'If you invite an elephant trainer into your house you have to expect elephant shi_'

It's about awareness, predictability and taking care of yourself, right?

What do ya say?

Do you allow yourself to see it like it is?

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - GET REAL!

We like to give everyone a chance, the benefit of the doubt, we like to be forgiving, we like to be optimistic…

BUT...

If we don't pay attention to the reality around us, we create stress, disappointment and pain - for ourselves!

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS                           

An opportunity to experiment with some fun ideas…

SEE IT, SAY IT!

Try this experiment:

1)  Think about some of the repetitive behavior in others that has caused you pain.

2)  Take away the 'bad' label from this behavior in order to view it objectively.

3)  Ask yourself if dealing with this would be as difficult if you expected it and recognized that it 'belonged' to the other person.

4)  Now, think about how you could take care of yourself with this new information.

SERIOUSLY SPEAKING - TELL IT LIKE IT IS

Sometimes it hurts to see the truth.

We don't want to acknowledge, even to ourselves, when someone is being deceptive with us.  It diminishes them, and in a funny way we also think it diminishes us.

Both of these things are hard to face.

We don't want to think someone we care about or even just associate with, is lying to us.  It makes them seem cowardly… and what does it say about us, that they think its okay to treat us this way?

DANCE WITH IT!   EXPERIENTIAL APPS                          

 An opportunity to experiment with some fun ideas…

Think about some of the times you recognized that someone was being deceptive.

Were you able to face their behavior?

How did you deal with it?

How did it affect your feelings about them?

About yourself?