An important step to improving your life

One very important first step in making your life better, more what you want it to be, is to not to fight or resist what you don’t like that’s going on in your experience.

This may come as a surprise to you, but our first step when faced with any negative emotion or situation is always, always to accept what is going on, even if it's just for a few moments.

The next time something happens you don’t like, instead of getting upset and letting your emotions take over and figuring out how you’re going to fight it, or avoid it or deny it, do this:

Take a slow, deep breath into your abdomen (or two or three) and relax.

As upsetting as it is, you don’t have to fight this. It’ll work its way through your experience eventually, maybe soon. But, if you resist it, it’ll hang around longer and may even escalate into a bigger, more emotional issue.

Instead, as you breathe deeply, think to yourself “Huh, that doesn’t feel very good. But I’m just going to accept and allow this situation to be what it is. I’m doing something different than I normally would…I’m going to observe it as well as my reaction to it.”

Then do just that! Just become an observer of the situation. Rise above it instead of taking the easy way and getting caught up in the web of emotional entanglements that scatter your energy and disempower you.

Your inaction doesn’t mean you agree with what’s happening or you’re weak and incapable of changing things. It actually shows you are strong. You’re able to keep your cool—your serenity—despite what’s going on. And that, my friends, is worth a lot in this crazy world of constant emotional traps and potholes.