Last week I had a phone conversation that was tough. The person was very harsh in tone, completely unwarranted. Ever had that happen to you?

I belong to a paid networking association and I needed to transfer my membership from one town to another. So I called the main office and spoke to a helpful person twice. When I called a third time  I felt attacked by a different person who answered the phone. She was angry because someone on her staff had given me wrong information – and she wasn’t very good at hiding it.

Her tone was rough and I was upset at the end of the call. Though I had been polite this person was agitated and I bore the brunt of it.

I spent the next few hours reeling from this phone call. I kept reliving the conversation, imagining all the things I should have said, such as that I would prefer to have a conversation in a different tone. And yes, I thought of some harsher statements too – things  I felt would have been justified and would have been some sort of retaliation.

As I drove to my next appointment I thought back to my morning prayers about living my day with joy, and gratitude and flexibility and being of use to those I met. Among other things in my morning prayer, I had committed to not letting anything steal my joy from me. And I realized – that is exactly what had happened here.

By replaying those messages in my head I was giving them power over me. I was saying they were real and I was justified in feeling hurt and wanting this person to know they had behaved badly. When you dive into self-justification it isn’t healthy. I knew I wanted to stand firm on the spiritual fact that God was governing my day – and that meant my joy couldn’t be taken away.

This logic comes from my study of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. It’s a great source book of break-through spiritual concepts that are as relevant now as they were when the book was written 130 years ago. Not so amazing since I believe the book describes spiritual facts that stand the test of time because they are true eternally.

When I stopped replaying the harsh scenario I was able to align my thoughts with the fact that God was moving me to right action. Also, that God was moving this person to right action as well (just as important). I didn’t have to keep reliving this abuse but instead know that God was right with all of us and would remedy this situation. By putting my trust in God’s control of the situation, instead of ego or a human reaction, I could be sure of a right resolution.

I’m not saying let people walk all over you, but the power of your thought on the situation is huge. The change in my thought from being victim (one where God wasn’t in control) to the opposite, where I could connect with God and know Her power was enough to manage human relationships and interactions -- was critical.

The next day, the secretary of the person I had spoken to called me. She was apologetic for giving me wrong information and restated her boss’s position. I calmly asked if they would be willing to honor their initial offer. She said she'd be happy to find out. And she understood that it was a calm and reasonable request. (Note: This is how it works in customer service: if you offer a customer something by mistake and they still want it, you should make an exception and readily give it to them. This is a factor in maintaining a positive long-term relationship.)

So I’m awaiting the reply, but whether in my favor or not I’m actually ok with it. Mainly because I have been able to let go of the need to tell this person they acted wrongly and instead act with peace in my heart and put God’s desire first. God is in charge of the situation and that means I can’t be abused.

I am grateful for this transformation of thought which led me to put aside human reaction and put divine Truth first. Any time we can do that we are working “right.”

Read more from this blogger at Spirit and Entrepreneurship . 

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