Life doesn’t always go smoothly, despite your best efforts. While I often recommend that you try to set boundaries on things you don’t want to do, there are times when doing something unpleasant is the right things to do, even if it’s uncomfortable. For example, if someone you care about is in the hospital, and you can’t stand going to hospitals, you might have to accept the discomfort to support the person.

Sometimes there are negative situations you must get through. A new boss may do things very differently than you’re used to. The weather may be rainy for your vacation in the sun. Your last choice for the holidays is to spend it with your spouse’s parents but it’s only fair to alternate with your family. You get my drift. You do what you don’t like because it’s the right thing to do. For many people, it’s the same attitude with fruitcake. Fruitcake is the brunt of a lot of jokes, especially this time of year.

•    “Who on earth eats it?”
•    “Why do so many people buy it for the holidays?”
•    “It can be used as a weapon or a paperweight it’s so heavy.”
•    “It doesn’t even taste like cake!”

Yet if you look in stores both on and off line, fruitcakes are advertised for sale in large numbers. It seems to be associated with the holidays. They’re usually packaged nicely so people think they make nice gifts when invited to someone’s home. I know several people who re-gift them. Yet most people are gracious and thank the giver of the fruitcake. And people will politely eat a small piece after a dinner party.

Like I said, there are many things you may not like but must tolerate. For many people fruitcake is one of them. It comes in a festive package, represents the holidays to many people, yet those same people may not actually want to eat it.

Just like you can actually develop a taste for fruitcake with small bites, you can get used to your new boss and the new ideas and systems by taking it bite by bite and may even find yourself in a better place. The joy from your friend in the hospital can temper the discomfort of being there. Knowing you’ve pleased your spouse by going to his/her family for the holidays can help you deal with the family things you don’t like. While it depends on who made the fruitcake, I actually enjoy it now.

Taste things you don’t like and find the good parts of them, especially during the holiday season when emotions can run high. Why not taste all the joy you can instead of bringing yourself down from things you find distasteful. Remember, life is what you make of it so make it wonderful!
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Take the 31 Days of Self-Love Challenge –a pledge to start your year by doing something kind for yourself for the first 31 days of January–and get my book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways for free at http://howdoiloveme.com. And you can post your loving acts HERE to reinforce your intention to love yourself. Read my 31 Days of Self-Love Posts HERE.

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