Why do we take some things so personally?

Have you ever had someone say something, and suddenly you felt yourself tense up inside?

All at once you feel anger. Sadness. Defensiveness. The need to explain yourself or fight back.

Even though the other person may never have intended to hurt you.

Maybe you then try to convince yourself that it really shouldn't bother you. You look for logical reasons. You overthink it. You try to control your reaction.

But it doesn't help.

I know this very well from my own life.

For a long time, I believed the problem was what other people were saying or doing. Or that I simply needed to become stronger and stop taking things so personally.

Over time, I discovered something different.

When a situation triggers a strong emotional reaction in me, it's often not just about what's happening in that moment. It touches something much older. A place inside me that still hurts.

That's why the reaction feels so intense.

I used to try to get rid of those feelings.

To convince myself I shouldn't be having them.

But the more I fought them, the longer they stayed.

When I discovered the BeTrue method, I found a completely different approach.

We don't try to suppress or change our feelings.

We learn to stay with them.

To allow ourselves to feel what we're already feeling.

That may sound strange.

You might be thinking:

"But I don't want to feel it. It's making my life harder."

And that's exactly where the paradox lies.

What we're resisting is already here.

Our resistance is often what keeps the feeling alive.

When, instead, we allow ourselves to stay with what we're experiencing—without trying to change it or make it disappear—something begins to shift.

Not because we've convinced ourselves.

But because the feeling is finally given the space to be fully experienced.

And in my experience, that's when it gradually begins to lose its power.

Then something surprising can happen.

The same person says almost the same thing again.

And you suddenly notice that it no longer affects you.

Not because you've learned to suppress your reaction.

But because those words no longer touch the same wounded place inside you.

For me, this is what true freedom is.

Not that the world changes.

But that I no longer have to fight myself every time an uncomfortable feeling arises.

How do you relate to uncomfortable feelings?

Do you stay with them and allow yourself to truly feel them?

Or do you tend to push them away, distract yourself, keep busy, go for a walk, cuddle with your partner, or do anything that helps you escape them for a little while?

I'd love to hear about your experience in the comments.

If you'd like to explore this topic further, feel free to message me.