There’s a pair of magpies who came outside my window every few mornings. And they sound like a piece of shit (pretty much like this).
CRAW-CRAW-CRAW-CRAW-CRAW… Fucking SHUT UP.
It starts around 5am, directly outside the window and it doesn’t stop. And the other morning it was so fucked I chucked the broom at them. And it might be alright if it was a tune or something but they just sound like fucking assholes.
But that’s the thing. Annoying sounds that piss you off are just like insults that offend you – they’re just sounds that you attach your own meaning. A song you like – awesome. A fucking magpie = piece of shit. But they’re both just sounds.
But what if you were an ornithologist? Or Charles freaking Darwin?
The sound of birds, even ones that sound like magpies, might actually be a treat.
The power of the mind is unbelievable. It can spin ANYTHING into a positive (or at least convince yourself to be indifferent to it).
So I imagined that I actually like the sound of the magpies. As if I had devoted my life to the study of birds and that any bird sounds are a pleasure.
The result? No raised heart rate. As relaxed as I was before they started doing their thing. I then went back to sleep.
What things that you find annoying can you stop stressing about? All with a simple change in mindset?