Sleep upside down to change your life

When I was little and couldn't sleep, my mom would tell me to try sleeping upside down. She would put my pillow at the foot of the bed, flip me the wrong direction so my feet were at the head of the bed and my head at the foot of the bed, and she would tell me that when you can't fall asleep, this helped.

Was my mom tricking me into turning off my brain to sleep, or is this an actual thing? 

In any case, I still do that when I can't sleep. Last night was the first time in a long while where I just could. not. fall. asleep. I had been in bed - mostly asleep - for 4 whole days, and I just kept adding things to my mental list of things I needed to get done at work after being gone so long. I also had a meeting at the corporate office this morning, so I had to get up 2 hours earlier than I usually do. So my brain was flying a mile a minute, and I just couldn't fall asleep. I was hot, then I was cold, then the street light was in my eye, then I was thirsty, then my Scentsy was making the room too light (even though it never bothers me), then I had to pee, or check my alarm, or get more water. It was just one of those restless nights.

So, like I did when I was a little kid, I took my pillow to the foot of the bed, climbed under the covers from the bottom (much to Juno's dismay, as the foot of the bed is her spot), and was literally asleep in no time at all. Slept all night. No tossing or turning, just sleeping.

I've asked several people today if their moms used to tell them this same story, about how turning the other way in bed helps you sleep, and none of them were familiar with it, so maybe it works on some placebo effect of some kind, but whatever. It works for me, so I go with it.

It got me thinking this morning though, about perspective.

I've had my panties in a twist the last couple of weeks and have been trying my damndest to just accept the things in life that I can't change. I can't change the way people act or behave, and I can't change the way people react to things I say (or write), or the way I feel. I can only own my own emotions, no one else's. So why am I letting my biscuits fry over something I cannot control?

I need to remember that the only thing I can control in the world, is myself. I have complete control over what I say, what I write, what I feel, and how I react to the world. I am in charge of me, no one else is. I am an independent thinker, I have my own opinions and I am entitled to them. And in that same regard, other people are in charge of themselves, and I am not. Other people have their own thoughts and opinions, and they are entitled to them as well.

Moving forward this month, I intend to focus on not letting the opinions of others upset me when there isn't anything I can do about it. I am going to focus on having a more positive outlook on things, even when my panties get twisted by someone being an idiot having their own independent thought.

I can't change other people. I can only change myself, and the way I choose to react to things.

And when life gets complicated, just put your pillow at the foot of the bed and take a nice nap with the cat. After all, it is her spot.