Are you resisting reality and causing yourself stress?

Do you often wish things were different than what they are? Wishing a gum tree was a pear tree, won’t make it bear fruit. Sure the sun should shine more, people ought to be more caring, stress shouldn’t be a part of life and you should have more holidays.

A thought of “This shouldn’t be happening,” can make you frustrated and annoyed. It can cause you to feel frustration, anxiety, fear and doubt. Refusing to accept people, places and things takes unnecessary energy. Discouraging things happen – it’s a part of life. Sometimes you even resist the positive changes because it’s unfamiliar.

Accepting the way things are, relieves the mental burden and creates an opening for real solutions or changes to take place. It’s empowering. Saying yes to a situation allows you to see the wood and the trees. It allows you to see the usefulness of the gum tree, erect a child’s swing on it and then go off in search of a tree that will bear fruit. Where are you not seeing solutions because you’re telling yourself, “It’s not supposed to be this way”?

Accepting unfortunate events can lead you to greater self confidence and self reliance says the Dalai Lama. It makes adverse events easier to face. Acceptance doesn’t mean you like what is, it means you stop mentally fighting with reality. You stop willing it to be a different – as if this would change things anyway. (Just in case you were wondering, manifesting requires desire, a positive outlook and not being in denial of the truth.)

The only time we suffer is when we believe a thought that argues with what is; from Byron Katie’s book Loving What Is.

What do you need to accept today that would reduce your stress?