I know I am not alone when I talk about this but, just last week, I was searching and searching for the keys to my car. I looked in my usual place which was on my bedside table. When they weren’t there, I looked under the bed. I looked on the bedside table on the opposite side of the bed. I looked in the kitchen. I looked in other bedrooms. I looked under couches and everywhere I could think to look. Still, no keys. With each passing moment, I got angrier and angrier. “Who took my keys?” “Why did someone move my keys,” I continued to mutter to myself. Finally, after several minutes of fuming, my wife walks in the room and says, “I have your keys.” They were in her pocket. All this time of searching and my wife had the keys the entire time.
As I thought about that funny moment, it reminded me so much of how we allow others to control our emotions and feelings. I can tell you countless times when I have allowed others to negatively impact my life. I should have cut them out of my life or confronted them, but I didn’t. Instead, I let them control how I felt. I was miserable but only because I allowed them to have control.
Over time, I learned that there are many times when we not only need to include positive people in our lives more often, but we also need to cut out negative people from our lives. It’s hard to do, but sometimes necessary. Once I learned to do just that, my roller coaster emotions changed for the good.
If you feel like your life is out of control or your “misery index” is to the max, you may be where I was. As yourself this question: “Are the keys to my happiness in someone else’s pockets?” If so, it may be time to change.
This really hit home..once again…years ago I cut someone out of my life..yes I did confront them but I felt like it fell on deaf ears…like my feelings didn’t count….it’s going on 4 years and every day I ask myself did I do the right thing? Should I just ignore my feelings and carry on with life with the hurtful feelings I felt..it’s been tough as this person I shut out of my life was my older sister…..I can admit..fess up that I miss her and have extended an olive branch of sorts but she didn’t acknowledge it so I just quit pursuing it……i have prayed relentlessly that God would make it possible for us to reconnect…..
LOL -love it! I’m taking my keys back an taking control.