Time for a Pattern Interrupt

How often do you find yourself feeling irritated by things that other people do? If it is all the time or even several times a day, you will want to pay attention to what we are going to talk about today.

People who are easily irritated usually blame others for it. But to find the cause – not the blame, but the root cause – these folks usually need to look inside themselves and not at those around them. Now, irritability can have many causes, but one of the most common causes is too many restrictive zones. In other words, one has too many rigid ideas and rules about “right” and “wrong” behavior.

Restricted people believe there is a right way to squeeze the toothpaste tube, a right way to put the dishes in the dishwasher, a right way to do just about everything – and that includes how to hang the toilet paper on the roller. They even have all kinds of so-called facts to back them up. (Typically, these restriction lessons were learned at a young age, from the authority figures in their lives. Patterns get repeated, generation to generation. What may have started out making sense for the time and place, now no longer fits.)

It is not enough that these folks feel compelled to follow these very restrictive and unnecessary rules. They have the same compulsion about other people too. Sometimes others will go along to keep the peace. But often, some will consciously or unconsciously break these needless rules just to drive the compulsive folks “around the bend.”

It is important to become aware of the self-imposed rules we live by and get rid of those that keep us rigidly confined for no important purpose. It is also important that we refrain from imposing our personal standards on others. Why spend our days stressed-out and irritated, wondering why our relationships don’t work? It may be time for a Pattern Interrupt. So, relax! Loosen up! Let go a little! It’s a guarantee that everyone will feel better for it.

Life is too short and too precious to spend all of it stressed out. There are other, far more constructive ways to use our boundless energies and talents!