Only You Can Ruin Your Day

So, the Dallas Cowboys lost yesterday.  Yes, they’re “my” team, and yes, I pull hard for them.  The game was especially painful to watch because the offense just looked pathetic.  After the game ended, I felt let down and that I had wasted the afternoon watching a team who didn’t come to play, in my opinion.

Then I remembered, “WHO CARES?”  Seriously, what part of that game has anything to do with my life, my day, my family…should I keep going?  Football is a game.  Nothing more.  In fact, football should be entertainment…not something I am so invested in that the outcome of a game can ruin my day.

I say in many of my talks that “only you can ruin your day.”  It’s true.  You can be yelled at by the boss, get cut off on the drive home, have a screaming kid all evening…but only your choice in how you react to these things can ruin your day.  If you choose to be mad and hold a grudge, then yes, your day may be ruined.  If, however, you choose to let things go, chances are, the rest of your day will go much better.  Same circumstances, same set of events, different perspective.

So, I chose last night to turn off the TV after the game and have fun with my family.  Hannah (my 7 month old) and I had a laugh-fest before bedtime last night, and I barely remembered the game this morning.  I chose to not let the game’s outcome bother me…and…it didn’t.  I can take that lesson and apply it to many other areas of my life and many other circumstances. 

Sure, I don’t have arms, but it doesn’t ruin my life.

So, my challenge to you is to learn to let things go, so that you can have a better day and a better life.  Only you can ruin your day.  No one else has that special ability.

***(Now, as you can see, Hannah was not happy at all with the outcome of the game…but she got over it, too!)