Release & Radically Change your Relationships
Ever have one of those “hit you over the head” moments where your perspective dramatically changed in an instant?
Well, that happened recently while I was watching a recording of Brendon Burchard’s teaching. He was talking about his ability to connect deeply with a diverse group of people across ages, gender, cultures, religions, political affiliations, and it all came down to one powerful concept. Release your expectation that others should think and behave the way you do, and your life will be forever changed!
What the what what??!!! YES!
See I’ll admit, I was stuck in this way of thinking and it absolutely impacted my relationships. I would get frustrated when my husband would hold on to something that I deemed he was holding on to for too long. Well, who cares? Let him feel and process things the way he wants to. In the past, I would immediately want to remedy the situation, give him 3 ways to change his physiology or make him tell me 3 things he was grateful for to try and control the outcome of his feelings. Why? It was about my discomfort not his.
See, when we insist that people believe and behave the way that we do it causes such turmoil. Imagine the peace the world would have if we just shrugged and accepted what others thought? Guys, this is mind-blowing to me! Think about it! Would your relationships change if you didn’t push people to think the way you did politically?
I was recently speaking with someone who told me that she stopped following a public figure because of her stance on a political issue. Ok cool! Move on! But I sensed that she was deeply disappointed and aggravated that this individual held this opinion because it differed from hers. What would happen if she released it and still enjoyed her content (which isn’t political at all by the way) and continued benefiting from her amazing ideas?
What would life be like if that person in your family who is adamant about vaccinations or totally against vaccinations was in your presence and you just accepted that their views differed from yours. End of story, no judgement, and moved on.
Now I may be the only person who is totally late for the party on this epiphany but what I can tell you is that I’ve seen dramatic shifts in my relationship with my husband. I no longer force gratitude or optimism on him. I give him space to process at a pace he’s comfortable with. I’m not under pressure to fix everything and he’s not under pressure to feel like he needs to conform to my thinking!
Will I get it right all the time? No, and neither will you, but I do hope that this has planted a seed for a deeper level of thinking and that it will radically change your relationships for the better!
