3 Ways to Stop Taking Things Too Personally

Taking things personally is a reaction, not an emotion.
Your friend insists that she gives you money for giving her a ride, a driver flips you the bird, a stranger asks you if you are expecting, or my favorite (not): you are out with a group of friends and they suddenly start making their list of recipes for the party you were not invited to.
Yup, these things have happened to all of us at some point and I will be the first to admit, it is hard not to take them personally.
For the most part, I have tried everything from ignoring, to judging to venting (well, maybe gossiping) to a friend or colleague. I have attempted to be the bigger person remaining calm, quiet and reserved about the whole thing. It wasn’t until I put myself on an Emotional Detox, I would begin to see these kinds of situations differently.
What I have learned is taking things personally is a reaction, not an emotion—a reaction to an undigested emotion in the body. While it might seem like that person was mean or rude, the truth of the matter is, these situations are often reflections of what remains unhealed in us.
Now, you could take a stab at figuring out what those emotions are and you might even nail down a few. Emotions such as insecurity, unworthy or feeling offended may come to mind. However, I don’t recommend you focus on figuring that all out.
What I have learned is labeling our emotions is really not the same as feeling them. In fact, I will go out on a limb here and say it is pretty darn dis...

Source: World of Psychology - October 13, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Psych Central Guest Author Tags: Habits Happiness Publishers Self-Help Spirituality & Health Defensive Attitude emotional detox Emotions reactions taking things personally Source Type: blogs