What If I Didn’t Mind?

I received a short note in my inbox this morning about a Scandinavian initiative called 'pyt'. This coincided with a chat with Carole, a good friend and mentor, who waved a card in front of me as we spoke. On it was written ‘What If I Didn’t Mind?’

It turns out, they are one and the same thing.   What if I could say pyt (loosely sounds like pffff) when confronted by something annoying? What if I could tell myself I really didn’t mind?

Someone cut me off while driving – pyt.

The man I thought was a hot date last week hasn’t called me back – pyt.

Your hair colourist botched the job this month.  For some of us, that's a tough one.

What if I didn’t mind? What if I really, truly developed that Teflon skin and didn’t let the rudeness of a text or a salesperson’s attitude or the ticket on my car window upset me? Pyt.Pfff.  What if I decided not to mind and to let the energy of that moment just slide off me?

Not to be confused with a Pollyanna view of the world as rosy, using this technique offers space to manage our reactions to stuff we don’t control. And, since we do control us and nothing else, it just makes sense. Basic, common sense. And what if you think I’m nuts and that this idea has no merit?   Well, I just don’t mind. I accept your reaction and won’t let it linger in my mind. (You don’t need to love or even like me and, as Eleanor Roosevelt so famously said, ‘What you think of me is none of my business’).

What if you try it and slowly develop the reflex to think happier thoughts and discard the annoying, stressful ones? It’s like oxygen for the brain, making space, bringing peace and yes, even greater happiness to mind, body and soul. What if I didn’t mind? What if I didn’t mind? It’s powerful and oh, so simple.