Don't take it personally

When we face challenges that stretch our mental and emotional limitations, it becomes easy to become defensive and to perceive every criticism as a personal attack. More often than not, however, it is our perception that has become warped to be hyper sensitive in those situations rather than the criticisms having malice in them. To deal with these situations, besides simply waiting for the tense emotions to subside, I find that the fundamental outlook necessary to see beyond my personal situation is to be motivated by a higher purpose. Without having a higher purpose as a solid foundation with which to view such situations, it becomes near impossible to view them objectively and deal with them properly.

A tense snowstorm in Washington, Winter 2019