Relationships can often be stressful.
Happiness is often a choice, and it depends on what we choose to think about any situation.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we can choose happiness no matter what is going on around us?
I was thinking it could be as easy as ABC – the ABC’s of Happiness — acceptance, balance, and compassion.
A is for ACCEPTANCE
So take a deep breath and think about what it means to be accepting.
Sometimes that’s harder to do than we think.
The Serenity Prayer says “help me to accept the things I cannot change and the wisdom to know the difference.” There’s a lot we cannot change. There’s a lot we cannot change about the people we love. So part of our opportunity in our relationships is to ACCEPT our partners, and quit trying to change them.
Sometimes you may choose to put up boundaries, or even to leave the relationship, but you can do so with acceptance. You can practice non-judgment — just a calm witnessing presence of “this is what it is and they are who they are. I can choose to engage or not, but I don’t have to worry about how to change them.”
As Al-Anon says in Step One, we’re powerless to change anyone else.
The only the person you can change is yourself.
So take another deep breath and choose what you will accept right now – and spare yourself hours of stress!
B is for BALANCE
The B of happiness and happy relationships is balance, and that’s also a challenge at times because there’s a lot of things we can balance.
I think if we start to balance in our needs, as well as taking care of the needs of others — — we’re going feel much more open and willing to participate and share if we balanced our needs in there.
Balance your needs at the top of your list.
Put your meditation, your yoga, your walk, your communing with nature first.
Then you’ll have so much more to share.
Now I’m getting to my favorite bridge, it reminds me of relationships. Sometimes you have to meet in the middle,
it’s not a straight line to have a healthy relationship. You have to learn how to put your needs out there and then accommodate the needs of someone else.
Balance in a way where you both hold onto your individuality. You both hold onto the essence of who you are at your core. You find someone who can appreciate you and celebrate you, and help you incorporate more of that truthful, soulful living into your life.
C is for COMPASSION
The ABCs, acceptance, balance, and compassion. Deep breath.
Start with being compassionate with yourself.
I’m sure if you’re like most of us you have much more compassion for others than you do yourself. So take a moment and have compassion for everything that you’re feeling and have compassion for everything you’re not allowing yourself to feel. All the exiled sadness and fears or hurt or anger, just have compassion.
When you have compassion those feelings soften, those feelings can move through you, and those feelings allow you to be more present.
So have compassion for yourself first, and then you’ll have more space to be compassionate with the people around you.
If there’s something that’s challenging you right now, or something that’s bothering you, something that’s stressing you out — just see which of the ABCs will help you right now. Acceptance, Balance, and Compassion.
Choose even one thought of one of these, and you’ll immediately feel better.
And remember to breathe……
Sending love always,
Linda xoxo
You can also join me in my online video program to help you create the relationship you truly desire and deserve. You can learn more HERE.
About Linda
You can heal and transform all your relationships with Compassionate Communication and Compassionate Mediation®.
Love is always the answer – and it starts with loving your SELF. Learn how to add more peace, love and joy to your life as you practice exquisite SELF care.
Linda is the author of the bestselling “Compassionate Mediation® for Relationships at a Crossroads: Add Passion to Your Marriage or Compassion to Your Divorce “ —for a free chapter, go to http://www.lindakrollbook.com/
Linda is also author of the he Kindle book “Compassionate Divorce -Changing the Face of Divorce, One Heart at a Time.” https://amzn.to/2Nvj1v2
Founder of Compassionate Communication Academy. Linda believes, “Families need not be “broken,” but can be peacefully and respectfully “re-structured.”