Quite a few years ago, I had an intensive half-day session with a therapist to discuss a bunch of things I was going through at the time and we touched on some anger/frustration issues I was experiencing with my Mum.
The therapist asked me whether, in my general life, I was wasteful or prudent with money. I told her that by and large, I was risk-averse, and not prone to frittering away my hard-earned dollars. She then said something incredibly profound: Me holding onto my anger and frustration with my mother was resulting in me ending my days emotionally in the red, because I was frittering away all my “emotional cash” on reacting to her. I could either continue to allow her to drain me of my reserves, or I could choose to actively let go of my natural reaction to her behaviour. If I chose the former, I’d continue to end my days in the red; if I chose the latter, I’d be that much richer emotionally from having just let it go.
It’s a lesson I’ve not forgotten and in fact, have applied it to many other people and situations since. ?