photo credit: David Masters

Nah, not that stationary bicycle “Spinning” idiocy – more power to any of you that enjoy it – my body just says “you want me to WHAT???”

I’m talkin’ ’bout a different kind of spinning.  In my continuing quest for ways to deal with unexpected and unwelcome aggravations, I offer you spinning – do this after you’ve gone ballistic and snapped out of it – but before you actually leap into action. That’s the time to do a mental walk-around-the-problem looking for new perspectives on the way things are.  Yes, pull out your rose colored glasses.  Like sunglasses, they have their uses.  And aggravation overload is one of those times when rose colored glasses can protect your spirit from the gloomie-rays.

Soooooo, Instead of Glooming Over the Problem…

Consider transforming it into an opportunity.  I mean, why not?  Recently my husband was hospitalized.  And I opted to stay with him throughout his ordeal.  Gloomie-rays were burning holes in my spirit.  But, since I couldn’t undo the crisis that brought him to the hospital, and I’d made the decision to be there 24/7 as his bedside medical champion, I also chose to spin the aggravation of being physically in the hospital into as good a thing as I could.  For instance, I had plenty of opportunity to watch TV and read my beach reading.  I could buy my meals instead of planning a menu, shopping, cooking and clean-up.  I could indulge in an occasional fancy candy from the gift shop.  I could chat with many kind and good-hearted nurses.  My husband had a help-mate.  Seems like a decent trade off to me.  Yeah, it wasn’t fun but I did my best to put on a game face.  And we’re glad to be home again.

So don your PR hat and put a good spin on your latest aggravation.  For instance, “getting the car fixed”, like staying in the hospital, can be spun into “enforced leisure time”. Give yourself permission to grab your beach reading, pick up a good take-out meal and then motor on into the service department’s waiting room.  Consider it a vegging opportunity.

In cinematography jargon, spinning is called “reframe” which means “change the camera angle without stopping the action”.  Why do that?  Because the technique allows film directors to seamlessly create audience emotion and engagement by finessing their visual perspectives.  Good directors invest time and energy into well-thought out and plotted reframes – all for the purpose of creating a moving movie experience.  Seems like something I’d like to do with my own life experiences – even when I can’t change what’s happening, I can change how I see it and feel it.

Spinning Making You Dizzy?

Really now, what’s the point of putting a positive spin on a stupid aggravation???  Here’s the deal.  We act on our thoughts.  Fussing and fuming about having to fix the car is likely to put you at odds with everyone around you including the service representative.  Not a good way to start a transaction.  Putting on a “game face” of cheer because you “get” to spend two hours in the waiting room eating your fav’ take out and reading a good book – that’s likely to encourage a friendly and helpful interaction.  Negative thoughts often result in negative outcomes.  And while positive thoughts might not change our situation, they certainly can influence outcomes.

Another way of looking at reframing is to think of it as creating a theme for a party.  Different themes create different experiences.  What experience would you like to have?  In many ways, it’s up to you how you experience unwelcome and unexpected aggravations.  No, you can’t control the world or most of what happens in it.  But you can control how you respond to unwelcome and unexpected aggravations. So choose to put as positive a spin on it as you can.  It’s your life, engage!

What aggravations need spinning in your life?