We’ve all heard the saying, “What we resist persists.”  In my experience, this is so very true.

Another great one that I recently read: “Someone can only drive you crazy if you give them the keys.”

Right now in your life, what do you wish were different?  What do you complain about?  Who really bothers you?  What things and people should be different from what they are?

Your answers to these questions are all things you’re resisting.  You may say that your negative feelings or uneasy emotions are many things but it boils down to resisting things and people as they are.

The opposite of resistance is acceptance.

Know What You Can Control

Of all of your answers to the above questions, how many things can you really control?

We have the ability to truly control very little in our lives.  We can’t control the past or much about the future.  We can’t control other people, even our children.  We can’t control much about our environment.

So what are we left with? All we have is the present moment and the choices we make in the present moment.  Once a choice has been made, accept it and let it go because you can’t go back and change it.  All you can do is make a new choice right now.  No guilt.  No beating yourself up for making mistakes.  Accept it and move forward with a new choice.

So what do we do with all the people and things in our lives that drive us crazy?  Honestly accept them for who and what they are without trying to change them.  And that’s usually hard to do but the only path to your own happiness.

Others don’t always act the way you want them to because they grew up in a different family environment, have different genes, had different life experiences – all of which they have interpreted and put together in a way that causes them to see everything in life differently than you.

So who is “right?”  Everyone and no one.  Everyone just is.  After enough people do things a certain way, a social norm is created and we call that “right.”  And then times change and those norms change and what was “right” may now be “wrong.”  Why?  Because one person decided it and others made the choice to agree.

Know What You’re Choosing

Become conscious of your choices – the ones you make consciously (i.e. should I take path A or path B?) and especially the ones you’ve been making subconsciously (i.e. what you eat, the people you associate with, your energy level, how positively or negatively you see the world).

By making a new choice about how you see the things that are currently bothering you, you can invite a new level of happiness into your life.  Real acceptance, with no conditions, opens the door to all kinds of new and beneficial opportunities to move forward instead of staying stuck complaining about things you have no control over.

Instead of lamenting about how things “should” be (in your perfect world), accept everything as it is and ask yourself how you can best utilize things as they are to accomplish your goals and dreams.

For example, instead of feeling bad about not having enough money to buy things you want (they should pay me more at work, I should have a better job, my spouse/kids shouldn’t spend so much), accept the amount of money you have and move forward from there.  What can you buy with the money you have?  What can you do to create more money (cut other expenses, create a new business, learn a new skill)?  What choices can you make today, given the people and circumstances as they are, that will move you forward, out of the resistance rut you’re in now and toward a happier life?

Notice That Feeling of Resistance

Sometimes it takes me a while to realize that I’m resisting.  But as soon as I start to notice feelings of anxiety, frustration, anger and the like, I realize that I have a choice to not feel that way anymore.  I can choose to accept whatever I’m so frustrated about, see the positive side of the situation (which I so conveniently forgot about) and make new choices to do productive things.  And, most importantly, I can choose to be happy no matter what.

What are you resisting?  Is it worth your time (which you can never get back) and valuable life energy to be negative about people and things?  Or can you make the subtle internal shift to accept people and things just the way they are and choose to be happy?

 

Create the life you want: Combine the law of attraction with mindfulness

The law of attraction suggests that our positive or negative thoughts bring about positive or negative experiences.  My latest book, The Mindful Guide to Law of Attraction, pairs that belief with the powerful practices of mindfulness. Through intentional breathing, writing, and engaging, you’ll hone a method for manifesting health, wealth, and love―the elements of happiness.

Let the law of attraction work for you by adopting its basic steps of identifying and visualizing the things you desire. Then use 45 practical meditation techniques included in the book to achieve awareness. By concentrating your positive energy on obtaining your wants, you’ll give yourself permission to receive them.

To your happiness!  ~Paige

The Mindful Guide to the Law of Attraction  

You can find this book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Indigo.