Letting Go of Other People’s Choices
Worrying about the choices that other people make is futile. We can’t control other people. It’s challenging enough trying to control our impulses. How could we possibly control anyone else’s? Have you ever made a firm resolution to diet, only to see your strong intentions derailed by a holiday dinner? Have you ever made up your mind to stop cursing because it doesn’t project the image you want? That good intention is often forgotten the next time we unconsciously respond to frustration. If it is difficult to change ourselves, we must acknowledge the impossibility of changing someone else. Trying to change anyone else will inevitably frustrate us. If we are confused about why we keep breaking our own resolutions, imagine how confusing it will be trying to prod another person to follow resolutions we have devised for them. It hardly matters that you are suggesting a healthier, more positive lifestyle for a family member or friend. It’s their health and it’s their life. Our influence stops far short of changing them. Our frustration with this impossible task may lead to worry and anger on our part, damaging our health and subtracting from our energy. We can find ourselves in a worry rut if we spend time obsessing about another’s choices. Even if their choices impact us, let’s acknowledge that we deserve to be free of harmful practices. Worrying harms us. Poor choices may harm a loved one but hard experiences are often required to wake someone up — not our fretting and nagging.
This essay and thirty other meditations on making positive changes in our lives is from my book, Make Today Count, available on Amazon for only $5.99.
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Today-Count-Joe-G…/…/ref=sr_1_1…

