Avoid life drama
Do you ever feel emotionally drained? One of the biggest contributors to mental and emotional exhaustion is drama in our lives. Drama begs us to take responsibility for other people’s junk.
Do you want to simplify your busy life? You must cancel the drama. But how? In this post, I will help you to find peace by learning how to avoid life drama in your life with this list of my best no-nonsense tips.
Life drama is draining
Does drama feel like it follows you and steals your joy? Drama demands you to take responsibility for things that do not belong to you. How can we break free from that cycle?
Like anything else, recognizing when something is happening is the very first step to making a change. Our energy is one of our most important resources and people hanging their problems on us rob us of it. We can have our peace and joy again by learning how to avoid a life of drama with these simple steps.
How to avoid life drama: the best no-drama tips
*Check your basic needs
*Strengthen your empathy muscles
*Work on your personal growth
*Choose your friends wisely
*Set and enforce boundaries
*Mind your own business
*Do not gossip
*THINK before you speak
*Communicate clearly and proactively
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1. Start with the foundation to avoid life drama
There is no way to completely avoid or eliminate all drama in our lives, but we can always get stronger to cope with it when it comes.
That is why we start with a strong foundation to improve our response to frustrating situations when they come by first checking our basic needs, strengthening our empathy muscles, and working on our personal growth.
Check your basic needs
Just like children, it is so difficult to face frustration and conflict if our basic needs are not met. When you feel the drama level rising, before you act, check in on your basic needs.
Think are you hungry, thirsty, tired, overstimulated, lonely, not feeling well, uncomfortable, or feeling like you have not been heard? Make it a point to meet your basic needs as a priority in your life to give you a better foundation to ward off unnecessary drama.
Strengthen your empathy muscles
The fastest way to cancel drama is to care for the person who is troubling you. When we show empathy for where they are coming from, it helps us to cope with the challenges they are presenting.
Drama must have at least two players and if you chose to care for the person instead of focusing on their behavior, you take yourself out of the drama equation.
Work on personal growth
“Be the bigger person.” Have you heard this advice when faced with a decision about how to react to a situation? How can you be bigger without growth?
Personal development or growth takes a lot of work, but it is the foundational kind of work that will pay off big time when the going gets rough.
As you grow, you will have the character and tools to face challenges when they arise. Working on your personal growth is foundational to canceling drama in your life.
2. Secure your perimeter to avoid life drama
Your perimeter is the invisible lines around you that limit what comes in and out – it protects you. Though drama may attack, you can keep most of it out with a clear and solid perimeter by choosing your friends wisely, setting and enforcing boundaries, and minding your own business.
Choose your friends wisely
We cannot always choose every person in our lives, such as family, neighbors, and co-workers. We can and should, however, be choosey with our friends.
Surround yourself with intentional relationships that add value to your life (Mayo Clinic) and do not evoke too much drama. Having people around that build us up, also strengthens and supports us for the inevitable challenges that come.
Set and enforce boundaries
I used to get myself in so much trouble by agreeing to things that I did not actually want. This could be a whole other post, but boundaries keep us out of the drama. I would feel guilty to say no because I didn’t feel like I had a strong enough reason.
It is one thing to do something for someone out of love or compassion, but if you do it for shame, guilt, pressure, or another reason, your boundaries have been broken.
Remember “No” is a complete sentence. I am allowed to set a boundary and people are allowed to not like it and fuss all over. I can hold my boundary just the same. You can too!
I highly recommend the book, Boundaries by Henry Cloud, you can get it here on Amazon or free with a trial on Audible.
Mind your own business
If your nose is not in it, your nose stays clean. If you focus on your own business and keep that in line, you keep the drama far, far away.
Worry about yourself and how you can contribute to the world for the better and the drama will practically melt away. “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”
3. Speak well to avoid life drama
Do not gossip
Gossip is to drama as fresh crap is to flies. It is so tempting, but just don’t do it. Do not warmly welcome drama into your life by gossiping about others.
This goes back to being a better person. You reap what you sow. If you gossip about others, you are begging for trouble.
Before you speak THINK
I wish I knew who coined this (so if you do, please give me a shout and I will attribute it), but I find this acronym for THINK before you speak so powerful that I knew it had to be included in my list to keep us out of the drama circuit. Before you speak, ask yourself is it:
Truthful
Helpful
Important
Necessary
Kind?
Communicate clearly and proactively
Oh goodness, the world would be a different place if people would just communicate! I am guilty, too. How many times have we found ourselves wrapped up in a big old mess because of a misunderstanding or because the expectations were not clear in the beginning?
To keep the drama monsters away, communicate bravely with those around. Be very clear and ask clarifying questions if you are not sure. Be proactive in your communication and give people the benefit of the doubt if things were not clear enough.
Recap
Find peace and joy in your life by learning how to avoid drama. Remember this list of my best tips to stay drama-free.
Don’t let the chaos of drama sap your energy or exhaust you. Simplify your life, and cancel the drama with these tips:
*Check your basic needs
*Strengthen your empathy muscles
*Work on your personal growth
*Choose your friends wisely
*Set and enforce boundaries
*Mind your own business
*Do not gossip
*THINK before you speak
*Communicate clearly and proactively
Taking Action
If you enjoyed this post, please:
- Apply it, try some of the tips, then come back and tell me about it!
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About the author, Jaime
Here at Altogether Mostly, you will find grace, compassion, joy, and beauty. I use empathy and a little tough love to bring out the best in people. I live in the Midwest United States with my loving husband and awesome children. For more about me and Altogether Mostly, please visit my about page here.