Member-only story
Christmas is Annoying
But it doesn’t have to be…
The Christmas music has started. In the past, I would have put in some earbuds and made sure my music was louder than the joyful tunes. When I first heard it five minutes ago, I thought, note to self, pack my earbuds to have in my purse at all times. Let’s face it, I’m a bit of a grinch. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
What’s the point?
But then I asked myself, why? Why do I find Christmas music intolerable? And for what purpose would I choose to continue to hate it?
I’ve only recently realized I could pick and choose what I want to like and hate. I used to believe this was out of my control, either you like something, or you don’t. I’ve come to understand that there are more complexities than that. There are things we ‘learn’ not to like for particular reasons throughout our lives.
‘Learning’ what to believe
Some things we are conscious of being a product of our experiences. For example, I don’t like to eat salmon because once I got sick after eating it. Ever since then, I haven’t put a piece in my mouth. Most people would tell me that it’s understandable.
This type of aversion is meant to protect us from repeating an unpleasant or dangerous experience. But we can certainly change…
