by Katia Ibáñez

As we were saying on our last article, the first thing we can do when the situation in which we are isn’t comfortable for us, is to attempt to change it.

But, what if this isn’t viable? What happens if the change is out of our reach or if it is simply impossible? The answer is pretty simple. Love it. Love your situation like it is. As imperfect, chaotic, uncomfortable, impossible or hard as it seems. LOVE IT.

Or saying it differently, make yourself the next question: What was I trying to accomplish when I CHOSE this particular situation? Which was my goal? Remember your “what for”, regain the reason you got yourself into where you are.

It’s Friday, it’s raining and you are stuck in the worst traffic you’ve ever been. You’re there because you’re on your way to see your girlfriend, so you choose to love as much as you can that traffic, because getting to your destiny and seeing her is worth going through that horrendous chaos.

It’s eleven o’clock at night and you are still in your office working on a report that although is not urgent, you are aware that it would be very convenient for you boss to have it first thing in the morning. That same boss whom gave you three paid days off a couple of months ago when your Mother passed away. So you choose to love the fact that at eleven in the nigh you are still in your office because what you are really doing is corresponding kindness with kindness and that matters to you more than time.

Even when you ordered your French fries without ketchup they arrive with ketchup. You decide you are very hungry and that’s more important than changing them so you eat them and ENJOY THEM, ketchup and all.

Choosing to “Love it” means to negotiate with yourself. It means that for this occasion, for this moment, for now, you can deal with this inconvenience, this chaos, this imperfection or whatever you want to call it. It means that you feel safe enough to stay where you are and be okay. It means that what you are looking for, what comes next (or to be more precise, what you expect will happen next) is better or more important that the current situation. So you decide to consciously stay where you are, to follow your course, to take in your actual present and love it. To love your current situation is to accept it’s not perfect or, that it is not even close as what you had imagined and it’s enough. As it is in this moment, is okay.

Loving it also means being ready to challenge your intern reality constructions regarding the person, situation and to explore other dimensions. To choose to place all your focus in what you need, in what you find interesting, in what you value about the situation. To love it means to make your current situation as good as you can. To love it means that, it won’t take your chance to enjoy, live and have a good life away from you.

What happens if this ends? What happens if recognizing the uncomfortable or the chaos or whatever it is, is no longer enough? What do I do if I can’t find a way of loving my current situation? What happens if it doesn’t matter what comes after, what the gain will be, you can’t stand the actual moment? We will talk about all of this next week.