You may react strongly, powerful emotions may be triggered in you, when your
cheating spouse says or does something.
You are angered. You defend yourself. You explain. You give reasons. You defy. You
may shout, you may yell, you may scream. Or you may clam up, you may withdraw, you
may freeze, you may withhold.
You may get depressed, you may move away, you may begin to think, “Poor me.” You may
begin to feel as if you are a victim.
All of these are reactive modes – reacting to what he or she is saying or doing.
Reactivity gets you nowhere.
It perpetuates cycles. Do you ever feel like you’re going in circles? That you can
almost predict what he or she is going to say and you can predict how you’re going
to respond, and you know how he or she is going to respond to your response, and so
on and so forth? You know that cycle?
You find yourself being an unattractive person when you get in this consistent
reactive mode.
What I want for you is I want for you to act, and I want you to act with your power.
I want you to act with your words, with what’s valuable and important for you. I
want you to act, rather than react.
And you say, “OK, yeah, sure.” Easier said than done, isn’t it?
But here’s the beginning point, OK?
When he or she says something that tends to elicit a powerful response within you,
ask yourself, “What does this trigger in me?”
Instead of reacting, ask yourself, “What does this trigger in me? Where in my body
do I feel this trigger?”
Feelings are basically physiological, and when we begin reacting, we feel it in our
bodies.
Shift the focal point from your reactivity to, “Where do I feel this uneasiness?
Where do I feel this in my body, in my head? My chest? My stomach? Where do I feel
it, and what does it feel like?”
Then rate it on a scale of one to ten, “OK this is a ten. This is as bad as it can
get,” or, “This is nine, it’s been worse,” or, “This is eight; it’s getting a little
bit better.”
Rate it on a scale of one to ten, and then be aware of the negative thoughts that
flow through your mind when you feel this awful feeling in your body .
Be aware of what you’re thinking. Be aware of the negative thoughts.
Now this may sound kind of weird or kind of simple, but it’s very, very powerful.
And it’s the beginning step, a basic beginning step for you to move from reactivity
to your own power.
And when you have your power, good things are going to happen.