The Critic

Issue date: 3/12/10 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Arianna Millington Arianna Millington Words of Wisdom Columnist

There are many things in the world that people are never going to be able to avoid. There's a word for this…inevitable. Natural things like rain, storms and lightning all existed before us and will be here after us. There are also inevitable human emotions, such as anger, jealousy and sadness. Everyone will feel these emotions at least once in life. These days it seems as if some kind of medicine exists for every kind of mental disorder and body pain.

What if we stopped trying to find cures for everything, and found a way to cope with it? Sure more serious diseases like cancer and conditions like pregnancy and childbirth benefit greatly from medications and treatments, but have you ever wondered if there was a reason, a purpose for it all? I wonder how long people tried to control weather and lightning, before they got innovative and discovered electricity. I also wonder what other great things in life we're missing out on just by permanently deleting them from existence. This is something I always think about and I will continue to ponder on it later, but for the time being, I'm thinking: "I wonder if I try to control too much in my life?"

Life is filled with many decisions and most of the time I bring more options to the table if none are available. It doesn't hurt to try a different way, right? I think if I were less analytical and controlling about almost every little detail in my life, I would endure way less stress, and I would be able to tolerate and be less upset in situations I cannot control.

Example: Since about the ninth grade I have lived with one of my Aunts, her husband, and three children. Her oldest child is a girl, who is nine years younger than me. I remember at first she would always sit too close to me, and always want to be where I was, and do what I did. It was sooooo annoying! I selfishly always tried to stay away from her, even though this seemed to be a predicament I would be stuck in for a while. I didn't realize until about a year later exactly what was going on. I was reading in the living room when she came down stairs with a book, and quietly started reading, just like I was. It suddenly became apparent to me that this was out of my control. Seeing as she has two younger brothers, she was desperate for another female companion besides her mom to be around. She was starving for a mentor, an example, an influencer and a big sister, and here the whole time I thought she was out to agitate and annoy me. I decided that since I can't control the fact that she will always be looking up to me, and imitating what I do, then I would from that point on do things that are good for her to do. My acceptance of her following me around made her super happy and relieved a ton of my stress. It even helped me to have better study and behavior habits, knowing that she was always looking and copying what I did. Even this past winter break my whole family told me about her consistent and very organized way of making lists to get everything done, and if you know me, you know I am BIG on lists. I'm very proud to have such a big part in somebody's life. I believe spectacular results happen when we sometimes stop trying to avoid an inevitable situation, and instead think of ways to benefit from it.

Application: Try to think of a bunch of situations that seem to be inevitable to you. Maybe it's a grumpy teacher, a loved one that you ALWAYS argue with or even a bad day every once in a while. Make a list of these circumstances and try to think optimistically. How can you, this week, turn your lightning into electricity?

Report your progress- If you try this application, and you like what you've done, then please let me know. Positive feedback is more proof that persuades someone else to try, slowly improving our world!

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools