In life, we will always face obstacles. We will always face challenges that come up. This is the inevitable that we cannot control. What we can control is how we react to these situations. How we handle our emotions in these situations.

For example, just recently I faced a little speed bump with my horse. She started to really act up, and was not really focusing or being responsive to what I was asking her to do. She legitimately made me a little afraid, a side of me that has never existed around horses. I remember driving home when I first experienced this. I was so frustrated, and couldn’t figure out what I was possibly doing wrong. Did my horse suddenly really not like me? She does have a mind of her own. It happened multiple times thereafter, and I remember feeling so defeated. After talking and discussing with several friends/ colleagues, I decided that I was going to approach the situation differently. Rather than anticipating her possibly acting up, I acted as though nothing ever happened.

She then tried to overreact as usual, and I just didn’t react. I brushed it off, and kept on with my time with her. If she was going to react, then so be it. She will get over it. She isn’t being malicious, she is just feeling good, and doesn’t know what to do with all of this energy.

I changed the outcome based upon my reaction. And sometimes we aren’t in control of the outcome at all, but we can still control how we react and respond. Things don’t happen to us, they happen for us. If you simply change your mindset, and accept things for what they are, you can save yourself unnecessary stress.

The next time you face an obstacle, breathe and evaluate the situation before you react to it. Is it actually worth stressing over? Is stressing about it or reacting poorly going to actually improve the outcome? More than likely, overreacting isn’t going to be the answer. Instead, view it as an opportunity to figure out what you can do to change the outcome. And if you cannot change the outcome, come to the realization of it is what it is, all you can do is push forward and move on.

It’s all about controlling what you can control, and not overreacting to what you cannot.