Who’s Business Is That?

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How much of your time do you spend focused on things over which you have absolutely no control or influence?

I’m talking about things like the weather, the price of oil, the wars and conflicts that are raging around the world, terrorism, global warming, the stock market. And the list goes on and on. Sure, we can and should “think globally and act locally”, but how often do you find yourself worrying, stressing or obsessing about these things?

But what about the “smaller” things over which you have little, if any, control or influence? I’m talking about the thoughts and actions of others. It might be your boss, your clients, your spouse or your kids. Depending on who we’re talking about you might have some level of influence, but it is a very fine line between “attempting to influence” and “attempting to control”, isn’t it?

And what happens to your quality of life when you are preoccupied with things that are “out there”? You know the answer to that question very well, even if you don’t like to admit it or even think about it.

I have recently discovered Byron Katie and her philosophy called “The Work”. You may already be familiar with her since her first book Loving What Is was published a number of years ago. In it, she says that there are only three kinds of business in the Universe: mine, yours and God’s. She goes on to say that stress comes from mentally being in any business other than your own.

If you think about this for a minute, you’ll probably agree that focusing on someone else’s business is a recipe for stress and conflict. But there’s another consequence to focusing on God’s business or someone else’s business and that is that you are not focusing on your own business!

Just let that sink in. Who’s living your life if you are spending your time and energy trying to live everyone else’s lives?

Now let’s look at this in terms of the Power of Mortality™. When you woke up this morning you were given a tremendous gift – a gift that was not owed to you – the gift of more time. The gift of another day on this earth. Do you really want to spend that time trying to live someone else’s life?

If your goal is to live a happier, healthier, more productive life – doesn’t it seem natural that the best way to go about it is to put your energy into your own affairs? After all, it’s much easier to change the way YOU are thinking about something than it is to change the way THEY are thinking, isn’t it? The sooner we start to choose our own life, the sooner our life will be the one that we want to choose!

So the next time you find yourself stressed, just stop and ask yourself these two simple questions: “What is it that is causing this upset?” and “Who’s business is that?” (And then thank Byron Katie).

PS: For more information on “The Work”, including some powerful video clips of “The Work” in action, please visit: Byron Katie’s website.

ENJOY NOW!