I have noticed that I have become a little more irritable than usual. I suppose it’s hardly surprising really. Most of the irritability is to do with my frustration and having to succumb. (I can’t get this stupid word out of my head now).
Yesterday we had a good run to London it took us exactly an hour to get there and one hour fifteen min to get back. Not bad going, so with the treatment in between we were home by 1.30pm
That meant I could start my painting or at least the preparation for it. I was delighted with the large canvas and my choice of colours and spent a good couple of hours preparing to put the first strokes of paint down then WHAM!
I was overwhelmed with tiredness. On top of this my body ached, I felt sick and my tongue felt like a well used doormat in my mouth with someone still rubbing there feet on it . So I had to succumb, drop tools and just go and lie there on the sofa like an invalid.
I didn’t even have the strength or inclination to watch my recording of Mr Selfridge! I really felt mega sorry for myself and poor Colin had to put up with a really miserable cow, up until I managed to move from sofa to bed at about 8pm.
This got me thinking about who or what presses your buttons and another little story came to mind.
Billy the Robot by Paul Humphreys
Billy is a robot, a big new shiny Robot. He had a set of buttons on his chest. When the children push the green one he laughs, when they push the orange on he cries, when they push the blue one he is sad and when they push the big red one he gets very, very angry. The children laughed and laughed as they pushed the buttons and Billy did his tricks, first sad, then angry, laughing then crying.
At first Billy enjoyed these games, he liked playing with the children and making them laugh and doing exactly what they wanted. He had only just come from the shop and this was much more fun. After a while however Billy began to wish he could choose when to be sad, and when to be happy.
So one night Billy got a screwdriver from the garage and took the shiny plate with the big buttons off his chest. He then carefully turned it round so that the buttons were on the inside where only Billy could find them. When the Children got home from school they were surprised to find Billy’s button had gone. But they soon found out that Billy was much more fun when he chose to be sad or happy. And Billy was very, very happy now because no one ever made him sad, or happy or cry again because he decided what mood to be in because he was in charge of his own button. Are you?
So who or what presses your buttons?
If we believe that someone has the power to upset us then we must believe in…..Cause and Effect and that others have the power to cause us to feel unhappy.
How does this one sit with you? Do you believe this to be true and correct?
I think most of us would, however I would like to share a different way for you to look at cause and effect. In order for someone to makes us feel unhappy or for us to cause pain and unhappiness in others we must have access to their emotional buttons.
We must be able to press or stimulate these buttons to get a reaction?
Cause – pressing the button/ saying or doing something
Effect – emotional reaction to the words or actions
So where are your buttons? Do we have buttons on the outside of our bodies that read
”Press here for Anger”
“Press here for Sadness”
“Press here for Happiness”
Of course not! We all have full control of our emotions and how we react to situations.
The key to changing this pattern is to have “awareness” of these emotions and make a conscious choice to react differently.
If you have someone in your life who is constantly causing you pain and unhappiness, try looking at the situation from this new perspective.
You now know that only you can press your emotional buttons
Make a conscious choice to react differently to the same behaviour and watch your relationships change.
Take control and ownership of your own emotions and let others do the same.
I will not let Cancer take control of mine but I will pace myself and really enjoy the moments that are filled with more energy and excitement.
Have a good day
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