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Where is your sense of humor?

If you’re like me, sometimes you get so wrapped up in the daily grind that you forget to laugh…especially at yourself.

Every day so many things don’t go the way we’d like them to. We can’t control it, we can’t change it; sometimes all we can do is laugh at it. You have to have a sense of humor if you don’t want to be frustrated and angry all of the time. Very few things or situations are worth the aggravation we allow them to cause.

Ask yourself, “Is this really important?” and if it’s not try to find the humor in it.

Don’t take life so seriously!

Inner nag

What are your “annoyance triggers?” What are the little things that bother you on a day-to-day basis? Do loud people or noisy places drive you nuts? People talking on cell phones in restaurants, when your inbox is full again, when people drive too slow or park their cars incorrectly? Is it the rudeness that abounds in today’s society or maybe those annoying soliciting phone calls that hang up just after the answering machine picks up? We all have them and they seem quite rational to us….

We don’t have to allow these minor stressors to affect us in this way. The first step is just to notice them, label them, and assess them if you will. Then take a moment to ask yourself if it is really the “thing” that annoys you or your reaction to it? If you have no control over it, then why do you give it so much power to dictate your mood? The trick is to not allow outside people or situations to sap your peace of the moment.

Life is filled with petty little annoyances. At work, at home, on the street, even with the people closest to us. When you catch yourself becoming annoyed try to re-frame the situation rather than allowing it to interfere with your attention and focus, whether it be on work, your family or enjoying the world around you.

When someone is rude to you, instead of getting irritated, try feeling compassion for them because they are probably unhappy and miserable. When you get those series of tele-marketer hang ups on your voice mail, be glad that’s not your job!

One of the keys to a happy, productive and peaceful life is to not allow other people or situations control your attitude and attention. Breathe and let it go.

Related articles

• My Top 20 Minor Annoyances (nick.typepad.com)
• The Worst Email Habits and Annoyances You Should Avoid (or At Least Be Aware Of) [What You Said] (lifehacker.com)
• Couples argue 312 a year, most likely at 8pm for 10 minutes (dailymail.co.uk)

Inner nag

Studies show that dwelling on negative thoughts magnifies their power in your mind. This interferes with moving forward as these thoughts get tangled up with truly useful ones. So, try to quiet the negative voices in your head, you know the ones, the if only, the what were you thinking, should have said, should have done, what am I going to do, blah, blah, blah. Give them a name if you want to – I call mine Grace (there’s some history behind that having to do with two nasty women) but you could call yours “Naggy Nancy,” or “Whiny Wendy.” Give it a try, what have you got to lose?

On a serious note, some in the medical field suggest that this is a key reason that more women suffer depression than men. Women are more likely to “overthink,” while men are better at distracting themselves from negative thoughts. This does not let men off the hook, it just means women need to be even more diligent about screening the thoughts we allow ourselves to focus on.

Do you have a name for your inner detractor?

Related articles

• What Is Destructive Thinking? (everydayhealth.com)
• Nixing Negative Thought (psychologytoday.com)
• How can I save each day from failure? (ask.metafilter.com)