Taking a Step Back

Taking a Step Back

I don’t know about you, but recently I have felt that I don’t need to watch television, go to a movie or a play to find drama. To me, it appears to be around us constantly.

I sign onto my internet account, and my web browser provider has stories from all over the world under every conceivable topic area with provocative headlines to try to pull me into read the article. I become active in professional association meetings, and there is drama over how one situation or another should be handled. Attendance at my monthly condo association meeting brings disagreements on what projects should be worked on first, and how they should be funded. Even in my immediate and extended families there is drama over whose turn it is to care for ailing parents, or differences of opinion over what is the appropriate course of action to take in caring for that parent.

It all can get quite taxing. I realize that issues need to be addressed all the time within our day to day lives. We all have many decisions we make each day, even to the point we become almost unconscious to the decision, and react on instinct or habit. And, again, some habits when ingrained in our day to day routines can be very good for us, particularly if we are incorporating them in to modify our behavior to reach goals we have for ourselves.

However, one of the things that I have taken to doing particularly when the drama seems to have taken control of my life is to take a step back. What are the most important things that are looking to be accomplished? With an elderly parent, is it simply to ensure their safety in caring for them so as to keep them from injuring themselves seriously?   Or with that condo association, is a needed item to be addressed a safety issue or something that needs to be treated because it can lead to a more serious structural problem? Or instead is it a cosmetic change that is being pushed because someone does not like something a certain color or style.

It is not always easy to discipline yourself to take that step back. However, when doing so, you come from a place of more rational thinking. One moves above conflict and starts concentrating more on what is beneficial to both themselves and others. They’ll ask themselves if what appears to need to be accomplished must be done all at once, or can it be done in stages. If so, what might be the most appropriate first steps? When can subsequent steps be scheduled? What are the two or three most important items that can be addressed now?

Stop and take an assessment of your life. How stressful is it for you? Where are those points of stress coming from? While your tendency may be to first feel they are all coming from outside sources, (other people, world events, etc.), you do have the choice as to how you react to any and all of those items. It may frankly mean turning some of those “stressors” off in your life. I know for me it has had me become very selective as to what I read or listen to through the media. It may mean frankly tuning out a family member or making it clear to them you will speak to them in only one style or another, but when the “drama arises,” you are walking away or tuning them out.

Taking a step back, is important in taking care of yourself. And, while it is desirable to give to others, if you don’t take the time to care for yourself, you may have nothing left to give when it most matters.

Taking a step back, is important in taking care of yourself. And, while it is desirable to give to others, if you don’t take the time to care for yourself, you may have nothing left to give when it most matters.