I WISH... a topic for positive venting

[sKePTiKal]

OK. I admit I'm just as susceptible to ragging, venting, bitching as anyone. And if I don't let some of the pressure that builds up bleed off a bit - I'm setting myself up to explode. (Coincidentally (or not) it just so happens little things are getting to me again, right now.) But there are always all kinds of things that just "get to me" - and nothing ever changes just because I blame someone or vent. I just wrote this to GS and it sort of sparked the idea for this thread.

I do know these things have to be expressed - somehow, somewhere - or they're like an unnoticed drop of battery acid that in time burns right through skin and bone.

Lately, I've been trying to remember to ask myself about these things: is there anything I can do about it? Say? or Ask for - maybe for someone to change a behavior? And do I know what I want instead of what happened? And how important in the scheme of things is it? And if I ask - do I then have to release the outcome, the schedule, the expectation???????? Because at that point, I've done something "about it" and handed off responsibility -- and control. Once handed off, do I have "right" to continue feeling injured or irritated if it doesn't happen when I think it should? or ever? Or should I simply at that point establish a new "boundary marker"??? So many questions that I really don't know the answer to... but they're food for thought.

So, what I invite everyone to do is frame all those kinds of "I hate it when..." or "You NEVER (or ALWAYS)..." kinds of things into a WISH, instead. Feel free to expand on my suggestions for the kinds of things that can get turned into a wish, too! This is meant to be a brainstorming session, along with lowering the pressure on explosion valves... and maybe if we put the same energy into the wishes... maybe (like releasing the outcome) the wish will be fulfilled.

So my first one:

I WISH:

that when I ask my husband to please recycle his magazines [or fill in the blank] that I didn't have to give him a deadline or timeframe and that I could rely on him getting it done in a reasonable amount of time without assistance.

[Ales2]

This is a great tip, thanks. I also find it helpful when I can find and list the emotion along with what really bothers me. For example, I FEAR that telling someone  to bugger off will cause problems for me down the road, so I settle for 2nd best. Then I can turn that around into a wish (for the future) or an action step (for the present).     

[Gaining Strength]

I wish my child would begin to do the basics before I remind him and check after him - things like taking his lunch box and books with him to the car on his way to school.