At Gourmet Services Inc. would like to wish you all…
HAPPY NATIONAL GET OVER IT DAY!
Each year on the 9th of March, people across the nation observe National Get Over It Day. And just as the name implies, National Get Over It Day is celebrated by doing exactly that, GETTING OVER IT. When we talk about “getting over it,” we’re speaking about finishing something, be it an illness, an emotional upset, or something else completely. The roots of the expression “get over it” is attested to use of the word “over” as a late 14th century meaning for “recover from.” The expression is first was seen in John Behervaise’s Thirty-six Years of Seafaring Life published in 1839, referencing an amputation: “Such was his state that no one supposed he could ever get over it.”
“Get Over It” means to accept something that happened in the past and moving on. The only way we can accept new joy and happiness into our life is to create space for it. If our heart and minds are filled with pain and hurt, how can we be open to new experiences and the feelings that accompany them? We have to make the decision to “let it go”. Things just don’t “disappear”. We have to commit to “letting it go.” If we don’t make a conscious decision up-front, we could end up self-sabotaging any work to move on from our pain. Making the decision to “let it go” also means realizing that we have a choice. The choice to stop reliving the pain, to stop going over the details of the in our head every time we think of the person or circumstance that’s caused/causing our hurt.
When it comes to the idea of ‘getting over’ something, most of us often think it’s paralleled to forgive and forget however, while there is the forgiving side, it’s not about forgetting and it doesn’t mean that we excuse what has happened to us or that it doesn’t hurt, it means that we’re cleansing our pallet from the bitter taste of anger, sadness, and the resentment that goes along with it all. The idea of ‘letting go’ is necessary to our mental and physical health. It can affect our psychological health, how we view ourselves, and our behavior. Research shows that holding on to negative feelings can put a stress on our bodies, leading to chronic pain and aches, insomnia, and even weight gain. Letting go fosters healthier relationships, inspires a healthy spiritual and psychological well being, lowers blood pressure, lessens likelihood for depression, promotes a stronger immune system and improved heart health.
To forgive is defined as, accepting an unpleasant fact or situation after dealing with it for a while, ceasing to feel resentment against an offender, or returning to our usual state of health or happiness after having a bad or unusual experience. Generally, forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of retribution. The act that hurt or offended us may always remain as part of our lives, however forgiveness can slacken its grip on us and help us focus on other, more positive parts of our lives. Forgiveness can lead us to feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion for those who hurt us. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that we refute the other person’s responsibility for hurting us, and it doesn’t minimize or justify the wrong. We can forgive someone without excusing his or her act. Forgiveness brings a kind of peace that helps us to go on.
Letting go of grudges and bitterness can make way for happiness, health and harmony. When someone we trust hurts us, we may become angry, sad or confused. If we settle on hurtful events, situations or grudges our minds can grow to be filled with resentment, vengeance and hostility. If we allow negative feelings to crowd out positive feelings, we might find ourselves consumed by our own bitterness or sense of bias and injustice.
Letting go fights more than the influential attraction of the current situation. It also comes into conflict with compelling; distorted thoughts that make holding on appear reasonable and right. Each thought pattern is a shrewd argument against “letting go”. Each needs to be directly challenged and re-assessed before our heart and mind can really be open to a new perspective. At its personal level, the possibility of “letting go” forces us to explore three of our strongest emotional drivers: love, fear, and rage. Letting go means confronting these emotions, bringing them into our awareness and “owning” them. It means challenging irrational, unproductive thinking until we “get our minds right”; it means facing our fears and then summoning our courage and our character to stare it down, and not blink.
We may not forget the behaviors of others, however nearly everyone deserves forgiveness. Sometimes we get locked into our pain and become inflexible, and we can’t imagine forgiving. Forgiving isn’t saying, “I agree with what you did.” Instead, it’s saying, “I don’t agree with what you did, but I forgive you anyway.” When we hold onto pain for a long time, it feels like an old friend, and it can seem unthinkable to let it go. Nevertheless our pain shouldn’t define us. It’s not healthy, it adds to our stress, it hurts our ability to focus, study and work, and it impacts our relationships. Everyday we choose to hold onto our pain is another day everybody around us has to live with that decision, and feel its consequences. So do us all and yourself a big favor: Let it go. Do something different today and welcome happiness back into your life.