So we have had a mouse in our house. – Eek!! I have gone through several phases of feelings and thinking about this.

At first when I saw it run across the kitchen floor I was in denial. Then evidence in the form of eaten bread in several locations and droppings –yuk!-  led me to revulsion and the compulsion to sort it out. So we got in the pest control and after finding out there were several potential ‘nesting’ points in my house I went into clearing out mode. – Which was needed –as there was a lot of clutter I had been avoiding sorting out that as a result of the mouse, got sorted.  (So there were some benefits.)

I felt embarrassed to talk about it but once I plucked up the courage I found most people I knew were having a similar problem and it was a relief to share and compare notes.

Despite laying poison the droppings continued – near to the baby’s cot and around the lounge where the kids play as well as the kitchen and bathroom.  I managed to remain calm and clean it up where I saw droppings in a methodical way, which surprised me. Before I understood the 3 Principles I would have felt anxious and disgusted and got very upset and obsessive about it. I’m not saying I didn’t experience those feelings but to a much lesser extent to what I had done in the past about similar things and also for a shorter amount of time. This was a blessing to me.

The one time I did get myself in a state though was when my husband decided he had had enough and put sticky traps down on the kitchen floor and went to work. I went out with the baby and the thought of coming home and seeing a mouse in the trap really scared me to the extent I was felt jumpy when I came back home and scared to go in my own kitchen. As it happened we didn’t catch anything and I saw that the fear of what I imagined to be real had a far greater effect on me than dealing with the reality of the situation. I saw that I was scaring myself and not the mouse scaring me.  When I reflected on my life I could see that I have scared myself many times before always over ‘nothing’ – little thoughts I had about little situations – usually silly insignificant things would lead me into a whirlwind of fear, self-doubt and sleepless nights.  Compared to bigger challenges that I seemed to deal with more rationally and calmly. Isn’t it funny what we innocently do to ourselves with our thinking! ?!  How we hurt ourselves and cause ourselves to have extreme feelings.

Isn’t it funny what you can learn from a little mischievous mouse – I would say thank you but I’m not quite there yet!

* Quote from Franklin D Roosevelt

If what I’ve written sparks your interest and you’d like to learn more from me about The 3 Principles I offer sessions in person and via Skype. Click here to find out more.