The Little Things That Bug You

In the personal development field you hear a lot about keeping things positive: thinking positive, surrounding yourself with positive people, affirmations, the law of attraction, I could go on and on. All of these things are important, very important, afterall it’s much more fun to go after what you really want, than just avoid what you don’t want, but there are little energy drains lurking in your life that no affirmations will fix.

I’m talking about the things that bug you. These bugs are also called tolerations, the things in life that you don’t really like, but you put up with. I first heard about this from Michael Neill and he credits Thomas Leonard the founder of Coach U, International Coach Federation and Coachville.

But, back to you. Stop for a moment and thing about your day so far. How many things did you come across that bugged you? I’m talking about things like the squeaky door hinge, loose drawer handle, messy desk, overwhelming email inbox, no cream for your coffee (or tea in my case!).

In the whole scheme of life, these are small things, very small things, but every time you get annoyed by these little bugs, you give them some of your energy. Energy you could put towards having the life you really want. And the real eye-opener? Most of these bugs we live with every day often don’t take much time, energy or money to fix, and taking care of them helps you keep your life in balance.

Today I’m going to make a list of the things in my life that bug me. When I’ve done this before, it was amazing how the simplest little change could make such a big deal. But I just went through this with the dishwasher door. Every time that door would open and close it squealed so loudly I’d squinch up my face and think, “I have GOT to fix that.” So, finally, I took two minutes and a couple of squirts of WD-40 and fixed the problem.

It feels a little silly to admit this, but I got a smile on my face every time I opened that door and it was completely silent. I felt proud of myself for fixing a problem, regardless of how little it was. Eventually it became a non-issue, just as the opening and closing of the dishwasher should be.

Will you join me in making your list of bugs, and clearing it? There are a few things to keep in mind when you look at your list. First, notice the things that are outside of your control. Think about accepting those things. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, just that you acknowledge that you don’t have any control and let them go.

You may also have some bigger things in life that annoy you, like toxic relationships, unfulfilling work or excess weight. Break these down into smaller steps, little tiny baby steps, and work through them.

Commit to working through your list in a comfortable way and taking a reasonable amount of time. Perhaps you’ll want to address one thing a day. Maybe you’ll want to group them into things you can do and things you can hire out. However you go about it, enjoy getting rid of the things that bug you so you can have more of what inspires you.