I had an incident at work where I was accidentally in copy on an email.  Maybe it was accidentally on purpose, I’m not sure.  It’s a bit of a long-winded story but to cut it short, I had an incident with another team and lost my cool.  Of course, I felt like I was totally justified in the heat of the moment.  Looking back in reflection, it’s never really cool to let anger win.  The “accidental emailer” advised the person that “injecting humor could help with a “volatile colleague”. I was the volatile college he was referencing.  Whoa!  That made me really take an inventory of where I am and why my fuse is so short.  I am normally the “nice” one.  I was really taken aback but also knew he was right.  The job has been insanely stressful, long hours and many demands but none of that is an excuse to treat people with disrespect.

This anger episode has been showing up in my mind and I realized I need to take a step back and work on it.  On Cyber Monday I picked up an online course by Pema Chodron, Sounds True Freedom to Choose Something Different, Part 1.  I’ve only listened to the first few lessons but I already feel I have some tools I can use to help me make a change in my life.  She describes a few “practices” and it seems so logical and simple. The first thing she  explains is just to stop and recognize the “hooks”.  I know it is not that simple.  It will require me to pay attention so I can stop reacting to stressors or hooks.  I am glad to have had this reminder to choose how I respond to people, always choosing kindness and remembering that we are all human and ultimately want the same thing, to be happy.

Another thing that really helps me defuse, is just a few minutes with my camera photographing nature.  This is todays result.  A bird a day can take the anger away!

Healthy Living joy Nature Photography Reading birds Flowers Happiness hiking joy Nature Photography