12 | January | 2014 | Classic Adrien

By under-reacting to problems or annoyances, and acting in a serene way, I help myself cultivate a calm attitude. – Gretchen Ruben

“Under-react to a Problem” is one of Gretchen’s 12 commandments to live by, and it doesn’t mean that we’re supposed to ignore our problems – but simply not react as intense as we’re accustomed to. In my opinion, what gets me riled up even more about a problem is a harsh reaction, so to lessen the blow it’s my goal to take a step back and look at this dilemma in the grand scheme of things. According to Gretchen, this will help us all feel calmer and more in control, and who wouldn’t like that ?! ⚓

This would have been a great commandment to live by growing up. I ❤ love ❤ my sister Carmen (to the moon and back) but being sisters – we fought, bickered, bantered, squealed – you name it, we did it. Looking at these minute things that we spent time bickering over makes me wish I would have been the bigger person and under-reacted to many of these problems. Well, it’s a new day and never too late to start! 👭

Chao, 💙 Adrien

When I catch myself thinking, “My husband isn’t very thoughtful,” and my mind starts kicking up examples of thoughtlessness, I contradict myself with “He’s very thoughtful”—and sure enough, I’m able to come up with many examples of his thoughtful behavior. – Gretchen Ruben

After reading this resolution I began to consider the parts of my life that have a tendency to generate negative thoughts. One part of my life that definitely needs a positivity boost is my time spent at work. Now don’t get be wrong – I like my job (I really do) and I’m blessed to be employed by a great company right after graduation 🎓. But, for those of you who don’t know, I work as an Inside Sales Specialist and a lot of my success is out of my control. Certain parts of my job that I don’t have control over include when a PO will get faxed in, customers returning my phone calls, and, well, the economy 💰.

My goal is to focus on the aspects of my job I can control! I’m going to make a better effort to make the dials ☎, send the emails 📩, speak with my field reps 📞, and stay positive! Focusing on the aspects of my job that I do have control over will increase my positive self-talk and improve my overall productivity.

Chao, 💘 Adrien