Sometimes the best thing you can do is the thing you’re supposed to do.
Recently I’ve realized I cause unnecessary arguments and waste time by acting out of annoyance or spite instead of just doing the easy thing.
Specifically, I don’t like repeating myself or speaking up when a person doesn’t hear me, so instead of just repeating myself, I say something sarcastic or ignore the situation. Doing so never leads to a productive outcome.
I overhear similar things in conversations where a person chooses to respond sarcastically or angrily. When I have an unbiased opinion, it’s easy to see how the situation could’ve been handled better had the person just done what the situation called for.
Doing what you’re supposed to do means doing the thing you may not want to but what you know is right. It means repeating yourself, it means showing patience, it means putting a smile on your face and helping someone, however rude they are. Doing what you’re supposed to is like asking yourself “How would the best version of myself handle this?” or “What’s the most productive way to get through this?’
We all have the answers – we know how we should act, but we often fail to act in such ways because we’re lazy, stressed, spiteful, or want drama. It feels easier and better in the moment to act poorly, then we later realize it wasn’t worth it.
So how do you act how you’re supposed to? Practice and a lot of patience, with yourself and those around you. It takes you interacting with rude people and forcing a smile to grow better at doing it without hesitation. It takes time to develop a pause between your pet peeves and your response. You have to interact with the things that cause the negative responses and slowly catch yourself before acting habitually and then changing the habit.
You know how you should act, now you have to do it. Have patience with the people around you and have patience with yourself as you learn to do what’s right.
July 22, 2022
