‘Crazy Wendy’, judgment, and the switchboard in my head.

AHA'S AND ACTION:

Here are 2 thoughts, 2 inspirations, and 1 question for you to reflect on this week…

2 THOUGHTS FROM ME

1. For years, I took everything personally. A look, a tone, a comment — I assumed it meant something about me, and I'd react in ways I'm not proud of. Then I heard: "You're living in the feeling of your thinking, not the feeling of the world." I realized in that moment that if my emotions come from my thinking — not from other people — then I don't have to take things so personally. That was a huge insight for me. It changed my interactions with people, and the relationships that matter most to me.

2. I have this inner voice I call "Crazy Wendy" — the operator at the switchboard of my brain. When she's loose, she reacts, defends, judges, and crosses wires everywhere. But when I notice she's the one running the show, I can laugh, breathe, and take back the switchboard. And when I see "crazy" loose in someone else, I can smile instead of reacting. Because I know that underneath all that thinking, there's innate well-being in all of us.

2 INSPIRATIONS FROM OTHER PEOPLE

1. “How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it.” by Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.

2. In a 2021 randomized controlled trial published in Cognitive Therapy and Research, researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research trained people to interpret ambiguous behavior more generously — and those who completed the training showed significantly less hostility, anger, and aggression than a placebo group. Compassion isn't just a nice idea. It's a trainable skill with a measurable effect.

1 QUESTION FOR YOU

1. What might change if you assumed they are always doing the best they can?

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