Today is a day to stop taking the bait...

For me this means to stop letting the action and/or words of other people wind me and get me in a state of agitation or anxiousness where I end up acting in a manner that leaves me feeling down and deeply annoyed that I took the bait again.

I am in the process of creating new habits and ways of being in the world that will help prevent this. Sometimes I can catch myself as I feel my stress level start to rise, and create a mantra to repeat in my head, like, “I am safe, I am loved, I choose happiness”. I can remind myself that I can only accept responsibility for my actions and other peoples stuff is just that other people’s stuff. I remember that we both may be engaged in ritual of sorts that we subconsciously play our own part in. I can choose to remove myself and make the conscious choice to choose happiness and swim off in a new direction.

Rosetta Sanders

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash