She watched the ducks and moorhen feeding on the food she threw, with more birds arriving all the time. In the sky, hordes of seagulls were circling, waiting to see if they could take their chance and grab some of the food for themselves.
As they wheeled about looking for an opportunity, the screeching intensified into a chaotic bedlam. Eventually, the little girl turned up to them, frustrated at the racket, and shouted back at them.
“Stop that screaming. I can’t stand it anymore.”
She poured all her energy and frustration towards the sky, now ignoring the waterfowl looking to her for more food. They soon became disinterested and swam away, as someone else turned up to feed them. And after a while, when the little girl stopped shaking her fist and shouting, the gulls moved on. There was no food to be had any longer. And when she turned to her ducks and moorhen again, there were none to be found.
Sometimes, we need to stand back and recognise the times that we can change things – and acknowledge the times when we can’t.
Those times when we take our eye off the ball and get frustrated, annoyed, angry, and a hundred and one more negative emotions about things which we can’t control can cause serious damage to our relationships. Paying attention to things that we can control – the actions we can take – is often more challenging than shouting at the sky and screaming at seagulls which we cannot control, yet upon whom we can turn our negative energies.
When we look at the things that we can control, it’s often more difficult to face those shifts we know we need to make. It seems more comfortable – and certainly feels better for a short time – to throw our efforts and emotions at things we cannot control. To pass the blame for how we feel onto someone – or something – else. Depleting our energy and diverting us from the more significant challenges that we face inside.
In whatever walk of life you want to focus – be at your business or your personal life – it sometimes feels easier in the short run to scream at the seagulls above; to allow ourselves to be frustrated with things and people that are outside our remit. When we spend a little effort to have a look at those things we can change within us – and take those first tentative steps – we will often find the reward is that much greater for our future.
So, take a minute to consider the things that are frustrating you and that you’re spending time complaining about. Then take a step back and have a look at the things that you can change within yourself in your actions, and your behaviours, and reset.
Spend your time feeding your ducks and moorhen, and less on the cries of seagulls outside your reach.
This article previously appeared on LinkedIn here.
