Bitter or better? It’s a choice you likely face multiple times per day. If you’re on a journey to reclaim your life, changing things up will likely bring more of this up as people & life try and adjust around you. I’ve certainly seen this myself and it can be a bit frustrating and sad.
Change is difficult for most of us. Many people avoid change because their fear of something new yet unknown (and possibly better) is allowed to be BIGGER than the discomfort of something current that is negative or bringing them down.
You may have people in your life that you first connected with when you were in a different place – maybe you used to complain and make lots of excuses before (like they still do) and that’s how you initially bonded. And now that you’ve decided to take more responsibility for your life, you notice more friction or possibly outright resentment from them. Their bitterness towards you (though it’s not ABOUT you ) may trigger your own bitter feelings back toward them. That will sadly keep you both stuck right where you are.
The road to success & excellence often includes letting go of situations, people & ideas that no longer serve our current path. And by letting go of that from our past makes MORE room for those people, ideas and situations that DO serve our current path. This can be a difficult thing to face after you’ve decided to take positive steps for your own goals.
Here’s an analogy that might help. Sure, people are different and more important than sports equipment but you’ll hopefully get the idea.
Let’s say you’ve been scuba diving for YEARS but now want to cross-country ski. Since you’ve now decided you want to focus on cross-country skiing, swim fins for your feet aren’t really going to help you. Swim fins aren’t necessarily “bad” now but they really don’t help for your next adventure.
No need to judge, criticize or put down swim fins. Appreciate how they’ve helped you before, wish them well, be grateful and get focused for your next journey. You may need and be helped by them in the future, so no need to trash or put them down for now if they no longer “fit”. You can just step towards what’s best for you next without creating unnecessary drama.
Are there still some areas where you’re more stuck on “bitter” rather than “better” with your attitude? If you want to reclaim your life and make some progress forward, you’ll want to exercise those mental muscles that find ways to create the “better” attitude regardless.
by Sean O’Meara
