Try to be more flexible

Flexible people are happy people. They experience a lot less stress than the rigid types who insist on things always being done a certain way. One of the reasons inflexibility is so stressful is that, in order to achieve our goals, we have to work with human beings who often think and do things differently. If you’re not the type who is receptive to other ways of doing things because you view them as a personal rejection of your own ideas, ask Jesus the Great Physician to perform some corrective surgery on you.

The Pharisees were the epitome of perfectionism and inflexibility. When they accused Jesus of not keeping the Sabbath, He said, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’ (Mark 2:27 NKJV) How flexible are you? Are you so nit-picky at home that your family stays on edge for fear of violating one of your preferences? Must dinner always come at an exact time and be served in a certain way? If plans need to be changed, does it send you into a tailspin, or do you stop and consider that God may have a different plan?

Don’t try to justify your behaviour by hiding under the cloak of ‘excellence’. Yes, you would like to see things done in the best manner possible. However, seek to understand when your behaviour leaves the realm of being excellent and begins to border on being an inflexible perfectionist who not only creates stress for yourself, but for others as well. The word for today is—relax. Bend a little. Try going with the flow.