Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Ask a Different Question. And change everything

One of my closest friends (and a betrayed wife) sent me a podcast the other day. It held all sorts of fascinating insights and research but nestled among it all was this:
If we change the question we ask, from "can" to "how can", it changes everything.
Consider: Can I get an A in Calculus? versus How can I get an A in Calculus?
Can I ever heal from infidelity? versus How can I heal from infidelity?
"Can" holds within it potential failure. While "how can" is about agency. It's Yoda yet again reminding us that there is no try. There is only do or do not.
Notice the language you use around infidelity and your healing. Are you telling yourself, with the words you use, that you anticipate failure? Or are you reminding yourself, without minimizing your pain or grief, that you hold the power for your own life? That you aren't trying, you are doing. And within that doing is your future self.
That future self can be one that prioritizes self-care and self-compassion, that holds room for her pain while trusting her strength and resilience.
Or that future self can be one who continues to feel powerless.
I don't, for one single second, blame you for his choice to cheat. That is entirely on him.
But how we heal from that betrayal is up to us. We can try or we can do. We can ask if or we can ask how.
There will be days when what we need is to curl up in a ball. But when we uncurl, let's ask ourselves not can we heal from this pain but how we can. Cause that simple change shifts the entire power dynamic back to  you.
Which is exactly where it belongs.

3 comments:

  1. This hits home big time. I realized at a certain point I had to stop caring about/following the ow, rehashing the affairs etc. For me I was caught up in all of it. One day I got tired of it and wanted to just stop. I realized I could not change the past and needed to focus on today forward. I focused all of my energy on myself and clearly explaining to my husband what I wanted and needed to stay in our marriage.

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  2. what an incredible insight. The language we use has so much impact on our experience. The difference between "Can I" and "How can I" just in the way it feels in my body. One is heavy and impossible. One is light and open. Thank you for this. It applies to so many things.

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  3. Wow, i love this. This definitely help each and everyone of us feel better. Transform from "Can i survive through" to "How can i survive through" or " Can i have better life without him" to " How can i have better life without him".

    Lost_AA

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