Ticked
Iamconstantlyamazedbyourabilityashumanbeingstobetickedoffbyseeminglyinsignificantthings.Fromaneighbor'snoisydogtoastrangertakinguptoomuchspaceonpublictransportation,thelistofpotentialtriggersisendless.Butwhatdoesitmeantobe"ticked"andwhydosomethingshavesuchapowerfuleffectonouremotions?
Tobetickedoffistobeannoyed,irritated,orangeredbysomething.Itisthatfeelingwhenourpatiencehaswornthinandwecan'thelpbutreact.Itmaybeafleetingmomentoffrustrationoralingeringsenseofanger.Eitherway,beingtickedoffcanconsumeourthoughtsandsapourenergy.
Sowhydoweletourselvesgettickedoffsoeasily?Onereasoncouldbeourinnateneedforcontrol.Whenthingsdon'tgoourway,whenourexpectationsarenotmet,itcanfeellikeapersonalaffront.Wefeelpowerlessandfrustrated,andbeingtickedoffbecomesawaytoregainsomesemblanceofcontrol.Evenifitisjustventingtoourselvesorcomplainingtoothers,beingtickedoffgivesusatemporarysenseofsatisfaction.
Anotherreasonisthatbeingtickedoffcanbeaddictive.Itbecomesaneasyoutletforourbuilt-upstressandanger.Itiseasiertolashoutatacarthatcutsusoffintrafficthantoaddressthedeeperissuescausingourstress.Beingtickedoffalsoallowsustofeelsuperiororrighteousinouranger.Weconvinceourselvesthatourannoyanceisjustifiedandthatwearesomehowbetterthanthepersonorsituationthathastickedusoff.
Butbeingconstantlytickedoffateverylittleinconvenienceisnotahealthyorproductivewaytolive.Itcantakeatollonourmentalandphysicalwell-being.Ourstresslevelsincrease,ourrelationshipssuffer,andwebecomemorepronetosnapjudgmentsandirrationalbehavior.Itbecomesacyclethatishardtobreak.
Sohowdowebreakfreefromthegripofbeingtickedoff?Itstartswithself-awarenessandunderstandingthatbeingtickedoffisachoice.Wecanchoosetoreactwithangerorwecanchoosetoletitgo.Italsorequiresempathyandperspective.Everyonehasbaddaysandthereisoftenmoretoasituationthanmeetstheeye.Takingamomenttostepbackandconsiderthebiggerpicturecanhelpdiffuseouranger.
Learningtomanagestressandfindinghealthieroutletsforournegativeemotionsisalsocrucial.Exercise,meditation,orengaginginhobbiescanprovideanalternativetobeingconstantlytickedoff.Surroundingourselveswithpositiveinfluencesandpracticinggratitudecanalsoshiftourfocusawayfromthetrivialannoyancesofdailylife.
Attheendoftheday,beingtickedoffisanaturalpartofbeinghuman.Weallhavemomentswhereourpatiencewearsthinandwecan'thelpbutreact.Butbyunderstandingtherootcausesofourangerandtakingstepstomanageit,wecanliveamorepeacefulandfulfillinglife.Lettinggoofthelittlethingsandfocusingonwhattrulymatterscanbringusasenseoffreedomandcontentmentthatbeingtickedoffsimplycannotprovide.