Light Bulb Moment of the Week: Avoid your Life Tangle & Effectively Unwind!

From around 6:30 am to around 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday, I spend my time working at my desk.  During this time, it’s me and my headset.  From drawer to plug-in to placement on my head, you could say my headset goes through a lot.  The long cord, which starts thick at the plug, reaches a volume knob, then goes thin up to the actual headset, can be a bit of an annoyance, as it tangles easily as it gets moved around throughout the day.

Today, I noticed the unfortunate twists of the cord, a situation I had created and failed to fully resolve in my neglect of this poor headset in its day-to-day usage.  I didn’t think it was important.  I would normally pull it from the drawer, unwind the tied cord, plug it in, go about my head, placing it on my head and down on the desk, unplug it, casually make sure there were no knots, retie it around the headset, and place it back in the drawer.   

LIGHT BULB MOMENT!            

Instead of going through the normal “routine,” I picked up the headset, dangled it upside down – holding the plug/cord end, and let it hang and spin.  Sure enough, as I patiently watched and waited, the cord – on its own – twirled away any and all tangles, leaving a properly straightened cord.  I smoothed out the final little tanglebits, pressing the cord between my fingers from top to bottom, carefully tied the newly freed cord around the headset, and delicately placed the headset in my drawer.

Let’s take a look at my headset in terms of it being my/your life.   Ask yourself:

~ “How do I treat myself day-to-day?”

~ “Do I give myself the full attention I should?”

~ “How do I deal with situations when I get frustrated, angry, confused, mistreated, etc.?” 

~ “Do I practice a cycle of positive actions/reinforcement, negative actions/reinforcement, or mixed?”  

and finally,

~ “How can I take better care of myself to ensure I’m living my happiest, most fulfilling, least stressful life possible?”

It’s amazing how big of a difference little thoughts, feelings, words, and actions can make, especially when they add up.  A negative feeling may not make too much of an impact in the moment, but what if you allow it to settle in without clearing it and then add in several others throughout your day? You’ve just created a tangled knot of negativity that is a lot harder to straighten out and break free of.  What if we took the time to smooth out our knots, whether it was immediately after they surfaced or even at opportune “check-in/tune-in” times of the day?  Not only would our days be more carefree, less stressful, and more focused - we’d give ourselves the opportunity to stay present and positive without worry.  We could take comfort in knowing that our lifeknots are not permanent, only temporary tangles in the cord.  

Take some time and answer the important questions above to figure out what necessary attention, care, and consideration you might need to give yourself.  Keep an eye out for Part 2, which will introduce some troubleshoots that will take you out of your tangle and allow for smooth sailing...

All the best and yummiest to you.