I recently had a hypnosis client who was going through some major legal issues. He said friends were telling him that THEY TOO were having difficulties (like a dead car battery!!) I guess your definition of Small Stuff is uniquely your own. We all have a tendency to think our problems are worse than everyone else’s.
Uncle Ernie offered this tip and he seems to be “bent out of shape” about more trivia than most people I know, maybe we also teach what we need to learn when it comes to happiness.
When talking to my client in the first scenario, and his friends who were freaked out about minor car troubles, we stumbled upon the idea of thinking about what it would be like to be someone with REALLY serious issues. He suggested, “A lawsuit is one thing, but it isn’t as bad as having your family killed in a car crash.” Now we were on a roll!
One of the most inspiring people I know had all but one sibling killed by her father who went on a psychotic rampage on her 14th birthday. While she and her surviving brother may be crippled physically, they are far from it emotionally, intellectually or spiritually. You can always find someone dealing with more stuff than you are.
So try this exercise now: Think of a problem you THINK you have and then find an example of someone dealing well with something more serious. Find one example every day for a week and see if you don’t feel more resilient by Sunday.