What Are You Tolerating?

There are many ways to dissipate our life’s energy. Tolerations are the gnats of life that irritate us over and over and we put up with them. Some tolerations are huge: an abusive spouse, a mercurial boss, a difficult officemate, a car on the brink of breakdown. But most of the time they are really small -- incessantly nickel and diming your energy.

Here is an example. You know how the silverware caddy of the dishwasher is made from hard plastic. Over time, the plastic squares break off a little and the holes at the bottom of the caddy get larger, allowing knives and spoons to fall through. How many days and nights of filling the dishwasher do you think it takes before more plastic tabs break off and half the silver either falls through or is crammed into 2 little sections never getting clean? How many times while filling the dishwasher are the words “I need to order a new silverware caddy” said? I know the answer to these questions.

Now a silverware caddy is not dire, but add small things up and time is spent complaining, sighing and surely muttering about them. You start thinking that your daily life is comprised of endless annoyances.

Start taking notice of what you are tolerating: take one at a time and zap it. Buy the damn caddy already.