Day 6 Dig Deep!!

{As part of my Happiness Projects, I’ve identified my Twelve Personal Commandments—the twelve overarching principles I use to guide my thoughts and behavior. (If you’re curious, you can read them here.)

“I read your personal commandments,” a friend told me. “I came up with my own commandments, but I only have four.”

“Oh, what are they?” I asked. I loved hearing other people’s commandments. She listed them: “‘Reach out,’ ‘Love your mother,’ ‘Show and tell,’ and ‘Dig deep’.”

“Those are really good,” I said admiringly. “I especially like ‘Dig deep.’ I’m going to adopt that resolution myself.” 

In my case, I especially need to dig deep with my children. Too often, I speak sharply, lose my patience, or make my (supposedly terrifying) mean face. Controlling my quick irritation is something I struggle to do every day.

We can’t yell and nag our way toward the loving, peaceful, tender atmosphere that we all want to foster at home. 

Resolve to “Dig deep” to react with humor, with patience, with calm. Easier said than done, right? But it’s worth the effort.}

This is a tricky one for me. Finding humor in a situation is tricky.  Being patient or calm is easier for me then finding humor, but it's definitely easier said then done. 

I find that in a situation of contention or frustration I tend to be very defensive, very quickly. It's been brought to my attention lately and its something I'm trying to understand. I am working on this one today and my goal is to see the end result, instead of worrying about how I need to appear "good" or "nice" or "right" in this situation think about how the other person is feeling. Try to think how you can make them feel better not necessarily try to make them see how you are good or right. No one likes that.