You have heard the saying “Don’t sweat the small stuff”? I add an extra line “and almost everything is small stuff.” We often get caught up in minutiae. Everything seems so important, so life and death. But really, very few things are life and death. If your boss gets mad at you, if you have a customer who is a jerk, if your partner is pouty, all of this lasts but moments. If you have the flu, while it may feel like it lasts forever, the reality is in a few days you start to feel better. If someone cuts you off in traffic, that moment lasts seconds and then is over. Seriously, most things that we get all twisted up about last but a moment or two.

Here is a different way to deal with it: when you start to see red and get all agitated, stop! Ask yourself, “How important is this? Will it truly have any on-going impact on my life?” If the answers are “not very and none”, then take a deep breath. Stay in the moment. Notice how whatever is bothering you stops. Notice how you survived it. Notice something else, like music or a tv show that you enjoy. Stay in the moment, allow your body to relax. Notice that no one died. Notice that you handled this. Notice that you had the skills. Notice that it is over. Notice that life is continuing and that you are okay.

As we continue to stay in the moment, we realize that there are very few things that truly continue on. Keep letting things go. You do not need to hold on to much of anything. Keep staying in the moment, take a deep breath, pet an animal. Enjoy where you are now.

And, as always, enjoy the journey!