Daily Gratitude: “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.”

We tend to get all bent out of shape over little things. Why is that? Because those little things seem gigantic when you’re facing them. That’s human nature. But it helps to realize that this thing that appears insurmountable may not be that big. If you can take a deep breath, step back a bit and ask yourself how much is this going to matter in a year (or use the 12 September 2001 question), you may be able to calm down and then, once the emotions are removed, you can see if it’s something worth expending energy on. Worry is wasted energy.

Ask yourself why this is so important right now? Is it logical or emotional? Is it something you can “come back to” later? Is it something that you can walk away from (overlook)? If not, why not?

Do you react to everything? If so, it’s probably your brain in survival mode. It’s hypervigilant. If you’ve had trauma in your life, then this is not surprising. Learn to calm your nervous system and then overlooking things will be easier.

Wouldn’t you like to save your energy for essential issues?