Today was Father’s Day, and nothing about the morning went the way I planned. In fact, it went totally opposite. I found myself frustrated and snippy when I wanted to be loving and considerate. Isn’t it ironic how we sometimes act completely opposite than the way we want to??
You see, I had the morning perfectly planned to ensure ultimate relaxation for my accountant husband. After a huge blow up at work, he’s been going full steam into the 2-3 a.m. hours for weeks now trying to get it sorted. He’s exhausted, and I wanted to give him an uninterrupted morning of sleeping in to show him how much I love and appreciate him.
I popped up so quick to grab the baby when he woke up so he wouldn’t disturb my sleeping husband. We played and snuggled until he got hungry, then we walked down the hall toward the kitchen … only to be hit by a horrendous smell.
As a pet owner, I always know it’s gonna be bad if the smell hits first. And, I was right. I walked out to a pooptastrophe. There was a steady stream of diarrhea through the whole living and dining room, including over the toys and puzzles that were left out, the rug, the carpet, and the floor.
I knew cleaning with a 17-month old in tow was out of the question, especially since the two older kids would be waking at any time. I frantically called out for reinforcement, disrupting the perfect sleep plan I had created for my husband. Instead, he got to tackle an angry toddler that wanted to “help,” while smelling the effects of the poopacalypse…
The crazy thing is I got snippy because of my perfect plan. “I want to give him the gift of sleep,” sounded like such a positive thought in my head, yet it created a very specific set of expectations for how the day was supposed to go.
But, do things always go the way it’s supposed to? Do people (or pets!) always act the way we think they should? No!
The “I want” sneaky thought shows up all of the time when I’m coaching my brain. Often, it wants to argue how it really IS a positive thought. But, without fail, when things are in violation of its wants, it starts acting in ways that are contrary to how it would like to show up.
Thankfully, I caught my sneaky thought before the day was gone. And so can you.
So, the next time you see a “I want” thought come through, write it down. Take a moment to consider all the unspoken expectations that arise with it. You’ll be surprised at how many things are out of your control, but that you are trying to control anyways. And when you do, take a deep breath and go with the flow. It will most certainly work better than resisting all that is out of your control, and then having your day turn into crap. Yes, pun intended 😉
If you are reading this and wondering if you have sneaky thoughts that are creeping up for you and affecting the way you show up for the ones you love the most, I assure you that you do. And, I would love to help you discover them. As a coach, my job is to help my clients find their blind spots so they can do the work to overcome them and get the results they want most in their lives. I would love to help you do the same.
Click here to send me an email so we can set up a consult call to discover what sneaky thoughts exist in your mind. Put, “I’m interested” in the subject line, and hit send. I’ll do the rest from there. I look forward to talking with you soon!
