What do Viktor Frankl and a new puppy have in common? You’ll see as you read today’s post.
Thank goodness they make puppies cute or I promise I would have returned this one within 24 hours!
In all seriousness, he’s a good little dude but he’s still a puppy. This means, I am sleeping like the mom of a newborn and I do NOT remember those days fondly. Quite frankly, I don’t remember them much at all. Probably because I was so tired all the time my brain stopped storing memory!
Anywhoo, the way it’s going now seems nearly as chaotic as those early-infant days, but I am much less frantic than when I was a new mom. Never fear, this puppy (and his two siblings) are wreaking total havoc on my home and my schedule on a daily basis but my nervous system isn’t nearly as triggered as it was by the last “baby” who was doing the same thing.
I would say it’s part age and part experience that has allowed me the space to not freak out over my daily life feeling totally turned upside down. But the truth is, it is much more intentional than that.
Years ago, I hated the way I felt-anxious, reactive, and just plain icky. So, I went to therapy and yoga class to help. I focused on identifying my own triggers and learning how to manage my less-than-desirable responses to said triggers so that I could live a more peaceful life and hopefully keep my children and husband from hating me.
Now, instead of accidental puddles on my carpet making me cry or an uncontrollable rage building as a grown dog refuses to come out of the rain making me late for work, I’m able to find the space to choose my response instead of reacting. The space that Viktor Frankl talks about in a famous quote I share from him all the time is what allows us to act instead of react; to choose behaviors instead of behaviors choosing us.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” ~ Viktor Frankl
Never fear, I am still very much FEELING all the things: annoyance, frustration, exhaustion, questioning every pet decision I’ve ever made ;). I am just not letting those feelings control me. I can find the space to choose. I am able to do that because of the work I’ve done to get here.
The work doesn’t lead to an absence of feeling. It simply helps us get into the space that allows choice. And what’s more freeing than that?
Visit the link to learn more about mental health counseling with me.
~ Cristie XO
