…and what to let go.
I am an advocate for setting your own p(e)ace and I try my best to follow that but I mostly find myself worrying about everyone else’s p(e)ace and feelings way more then my own. The trickiest part of this is knowing when to voice my feelings and when not to. Sometimes your first reaction isn’t a true reaction – it is just an overreaction by anxiety and emotion. I have gotten better at not voicing that initial gut reaction for the most part but it still slips out from time to time and I almost always regret it.
Sometimes I think about things a long time before I say them. I know they are important and I deserve to voice them but have to wait for the right setting and time. I never used to wait at all so I am pretty proud of this improvement. Even with all the thought put into timing and how I word them, they are no always received with an open heart and mind, which is hard. All I can do is say how I feel and hope whoever I am speaking to hears it and considers what I am saying with care and love.
Other times, I decide not to say anything at all, wait and see if whatever is bothering me or whatever I am feeling passes. People who know me well can tell when I am doing that I think – sometimes it gets me into more trouble because it builds up inside of me and they can see it then I blurt it all out. Sometimes it works fine and just passes, in which case it wasn’t a huge deal to start.
How do you know what to say and when in order to balance setting your own p(e)ace and taking others into consideration?