Shield Up!
The Importance of Learning to Emotionally Protect Ourselves
Mmmmm…. A feeling of warmth on your cheek and a slight glow on the other side of your eyelids indicates a new day has come. From outside the window, you hear birds chirping, and within your walls, the day is deliciously silent.
You pull the blankets around you one more time, stretch from your toes to your fingertips, and prepare yourself for the day ahead.
The day is glorious. It — and you — are full of potential, and who knows what awesomeness is about to come your way.
You’re ready to take on the day, and walk down the hall to get it going.
But then, bang!
Your significant other is in the kitchen, banging the kitchen cupboards and grumbling under their breath.
You can’t hear what they’re saying, but know they woke on the wrong side of the bed.
“Good morning!” you say, cheerily.
“Ugh.” They respond.
Hmmmm… That didn’t go as expected. Did you do something wrong?
You attempt to kiss your love, and you’re given a huff and a stomp away.
…. Mumble, mumble, grumble, cuss word, mumble…
What the heck?!?!
Your beautiful day suddenly has dark clouds rolling in.
But it doesn’t have to.
It took me nearly 40 years of life to not only learn but also understand and trust the fact that I have the ability to control my mindset and mood during the day.
My husband knows that, when I do not have my mental shield up, he is the ONE person in the universe who has the ability to impact my attitude like no other. Don’t get me wrong, my husband treats me like a queen. He would never want to purposely send me on a hellish ride down a horrifying spiral of the mental roller coaster, but on the days when he wakes before me (rare) and in a horrible mood, he can put me in a bad mood before I even realize I’m awake.
On the days I wake before him, however? My mindset is set before he or the rest of the house realizes the sun has risen.
Why?
Because I say it is so.
I realize this may sound woo to some, and perhaps it is. However, if you believe you are having an amazing day and that nothing can get in your way, nothing will.
Examples…
- You’re on your way to work and you get a flat tire or the subway breaks down. Rather than thinking, “*#&@, I’m — — ing going to be late.” you think instead, “Awesome, I have more time to enjoy my breakfast, listen to the radio or read my book.”
- You oversleep. Rather than cursing and running around frantically, you appreciate the extra sleep and the fact that you now feel rested, and you trust that in your more relaxed state you will be able to more calmly handle the day.
- Your kid colors their entire face with green, dry-erase marker (which, by the way, is nearly impossible to remove.) You take the opportunity to livestream your child and brighten the day of somebody else on social media, remembering that this is a video you will be able to play at their wedding someday. Yes, this happened to me.
My first 30+ years were not lived. They were endured.
I believed my mood was controlled by others, as was my success and my life circumstances. Because I believed this, it was. And your day will be as well, if you don’t learn to put your shields up and embrace the day with the greatness that only YOU know it has in store.
Put your shields up, and protect yourself from the barrage of bad-mood bacteria that will attempt to attack you.
Tell yourself how amazing you are, how full of opportunity your day will be, and that, in every moment, you are being the very best version of yourself.
Repeat this non-stop until it not only sinks in but is truly believed.
Only then will your life truly begin to be as remarkable as you want it to be.
