Here, on my last day of focusing on who or what I am powerless over in my life, I found a mountain of frustration.
Nobody wanted to do their jobs the way I wanted them to.
Nobody wanted to take me seriously.
I finally just had to give up and walk away. Paying attention to what I am powerless over is a blended sword. In one sense, it relieves me of any responsibility for that which I cannot control and have no power over. In another sense, it shines a light on a certain kind of helplessness that could easily feed a woe-is-me attitude.
Over the course of this past week, I noticed that I have trouble paying attention to people and things I have no control over and am powerless to do anything about. I would rather focus on what I can do. I like knowing where my power carries weight.
When my frustration finally crested today, I had to stop and ask myself, “Just how much do I really care about this?”
And the answer was a simple, “not much.”
Acknowledging that I am powerless requires that I be willing to give something up. It could be illusion. It could be misplaced responsibility. It could be stubbornness (also affectionately known as tenacity).
Sometimes, surrender is a good thing.
©2010 by Barbara L. Kass
Tags: frustration, illusion, powerless
Eternal Presence 
May 27, 2010 at 7:39 pm |
“I would rather focus on what I can do. I like knowing where my power carries weight.”
Boy oh boy can I ever relate to those words. That’s not a good thing. And it’s not a bad thing either. It all hinges on how I use that knowledge.
May 27, 2010 at 8:10 pm |
Hi, Laurie — you are so full of wisdom; how we use what we know about ourselves is what matters.
May 27, 2010 at 8:23 pm |
You can beat your head against a wall of Jello, you won’t do any harm (much) but you won’t do any good either. Sometimes the situation is not going to change because of your efforts and you have to redirect your energies elsewhere. You know, the old “pick your battles” deal. If you don’t have a great deal of emotion invested, shoot, let it go. If you do, go kick booty til you feel better. You might make a change, or maybe not, you are satisfied you gave it your best shot!
May 27, 2010 at 8:54 pm |
Oh my goodness! Now I am stuck with this image of me bashing my head against a giant red cherry wall of Jello! You are so right. I need to be a whole lot pickier (<==== is that a word?) about what I choose to get frustrated and get my pantyhose in a twist over.
May 27, 2010 at 10:13 pm |
No
Your not throwing in the towel are you?
Or is that what we are supposed to do?
You remind me of my adventure today…
It was time for a site monthly meeting. The director,who mind you is the chair of the meeting, is nowhere to be found and sent no agenda which I might add is a regulatory requirement – had sent her a message asking if there was an agenda and if she was going to attend,her own meeting. Her Manager is out of the office and medical director of the site is in for the meeting from Kentucky. Do I duck for cover? No I just take the data,metrics and last meeting agenda and go chair the meeting. Boy was the Dr hot during the meeting he said he was just going to delegate it to her manager,who mind you has enough to do,rather than confronting the director!
Well guess who is writing the minutes of the meeting? Me
It will interesting how I- word this one.
Powerless…yes at any moment.
Kim
May 29, 2010 at 2:07 pm |
Mine is not Jello, maybe Butterscotch Pudding!
Yes, over the years and, I guess, with much practice you learn when into “Pick Your Battles”.
Now I just have to learn to not pick battles with myself!!!! very Seriuosly and prayerfully