Stuck in a Loop — Can You Break It?

Say it long enough, and you start to live it.

“Be impeccable with your word.” — Don Miguel Ruiz

“This dog is driving me crazy.” Always getting in the trash, under my feet at every turn I make.

“This hungry cat is driving me crazy.” She’s so loud and demanding, especially when she thinks I have not fed her soon enough.

“My child is driving me crazy.” Teenagers present their own set of challenges, and each of mine presents me with a new set every week.

“My husband’s actions are driving me crazy.” Coffee cups lined up on an end table and clothes thrown over a closet rod instead of a hanger.

“This slow-heating stove is driving me crazy.” These onions won’t caramelize themselves.

“This weather is driving me crazy.” Hot and humid one day, then cold and windy the next.

“My hair is driving me crazy.” On humid days, the curls pop. But on dry days, I have to use a cabinet full of products to keep them in place.

Everything in my life seemed to ‘drive me crazy.’ And the more I said it, the more life would bring me things to go crazy over. A nail in my tire, almost on an empty gas tank when I was not the last one to drive the car, cat puke when I first woke up, and more.

I didn’t catch it as a pattern at first. I thought I was just being easily irritated. Or having a difficult day. Then I noticed the phrase had become automatic. It was the first words that would come out of my mouth before even thinking about it.

Then I remembered: life and death are in the power of the tongue. Whatever a man thinks, so is he. Be impeccable with your word. The same truths — different languages. Scripture, positive thinking, ancient wisdom. They all say the same thing.

And I realized that I was bringing craziness into my life. Word by word. Complaint by complaint. And if I didn’t stop this loop of professing that I am being driven crazy, then I might actually go crazy after all.

So, I started catching myself mid-sentence. “Oh, my gawd, that is driving meh… (clears throat) um. This situation is a challenge to me in this moment, but I will figure it out.”

“That customer is driving me cra… She is not my favorite customer.”

“Mr. B is driving me… (deep breath in….) Mr. B can be difficult to deal with at times.”

Sometimes I stop mid-sentence, at a loss for words, because some things are better left unsaid.

Arpita Srivastava, thanks for giving me the platform to write this.

This story is published under Threads of Life.🌿 as part of the challenge — “Stuck in a Loop — Can You Break It?”

Writing Challenge: Stuck in a Loop — Can You Break It?

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List: Writing Challenge: Stuck in a Loop – Can You Break It? | Curated by Arpita Srivastava | Medium

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Stuck in a Loop — Can You Break It? was originally published in Threads Of Life.🌿 on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.