Derek and I were recently discussing about how focusing on the little irritations in life can really stress us out. Oftentimes, there isn’t much we can do about them, but we let them take on more importance in our lives than they deserve.
Can you relate?
About a year ago, we had to replace our refrigerator. Our old one still worked, so it didn’t start out as a stressful situation. We were just looking for a much needed upgrade.
Derek was out of town when the fridge was delivered. All seemed to be fine until we (the delivery men and I) realized that the fridge was too large to fit through the 1950’s entryway to our kitchen. They unceremoniously rolled it into our living room, told us to call them when we figured things out, and left.
Oh my goodness.
I now had a large refrigerator sitting in the middle of my living room. And did I mention they had already removed our old fridge for disposal and loaded it onto their truck? There was no turning back.
Determined to resolve this issue, I pulled out a crowbar and pried off the moulding on the sides of the doorway to make it wider. What happened next seemed nothing short of a miracle.
I happened to glance outside our kitchen window and who did I see still parked in our driveway? The delivery men were having engine trouble and were stranded! I ran outside, told them what I had done, and they moved the refrigerator into it’s rightful place. What luck!! (Well, for me anyway.)
I had been warned the refrigerator would be noisy for awhile as it worked hard to cool down to the appropriate temperature so I didn’t pay much attention until after a few hours I noticed a high-pitched, ear-piercing sound. I tried hard to pretend that the noise wasn’t there but all I could do was focus on the incessant, maddening whine. To add insult to injury, we had actually paid a sizable amount of money for this torture!
I called the company and requested a service call and long story a little shorter, the compressor was replaced and a dampener added. I still noticed the refrigerator but was better able to resist the urge to run screaming from the house. Actually, we really liked the fridge for all of the features it offered and it looked nice in the kitchen.
We’ve had the refrigerator for over 2 years now and I recently realized that I don’t even notice the noises the refrigerator makes anymore. The noises are still there but I am no longer focused on them.
Oftentimes, we find ourselves in circumstances that are really irritating. Sometimes the solutions are completely out of our control. Sure, we do what we can (like change out a compressor) but in the end, we just have to accept that things will never be perfect. If we can find a way to just ignore the little things we can’t change and accept them as a part of our lives, we will most likely grow accustomed to them and not notice them anymore.
What we focus on, will only get magnified. Don’t give the negative things in your life more importance than they deserve! Life is so much more than the irritations and annoyances that seem to follow us.
And by the way, Derek patched up the carnage from my crowbar wielding antics in case you were wondering!
Marisol Haughton