Getting to Know Yourself

I am learning that in order to be more loving towards others, I need to get to know myself a little better in certain ways. I'm not advocating that we all become self-centered and introspective. Clearly, that is not what love is all about, but I think a little self-awareness is necessary to stop unloving habits and moods and encourage loving actions.

Let me give you an example to help explain what I mean. For me, there are certain times of day that trigger unloving attitudes. In the morning before I have my coffee, I try very hard to be loving to my kids and husband, but this is a time of day that I struggle the most. When I see this about myself and realize that I tend to be unloving at this time of day, I can look for ways around my natural inclinations so it's not as hard to be loving. I can get up a little earlier (very hard for me!) so I can have coffee by myself before my family gets up. An easy, but effective, solution.

It's not always easy to get away or remove myself from a situation so that I can have a moment to course-correct and get my mind and heart in a different place, but it's important that I at least try. And the effort is easier when I learn what those triggers for me are. When I see it coming, I can take some time, whether that is built into my day as a regular thing or just sneaking off for a few minutes, to read a Bible verse or passage, pray, or just deliberately put my thoughts on something better. In recognizing these things about ourselves and putting systems in place to deal with them, we can become more loving people overall.

What are some of your "triggers"? What ways have you come up with to deal with them?