Who's in Your Doghouse?

We get mad. We get cranky. We judge. We blame. We put people on ice. Send them to Siberia. Put them in the doghouse. And there they stay, sometimes for a very looooooong time.

But it can be exhausting to be annoyed at too many individual people at any one time. And you miss out on all their otherwise goodness, if you do.

So, if you're thinking that your doghouse needs a room addition this spring, maybe it's a good time to take stock of who's in there and when they might be up for parole.

Here's how to tell if it might be time to turn the page:

1. If you can't remember exactly why you're mad at someone, it might be time to forgive and forget;
2. If your 'why' is more than 7 days old, it might be time to just let go of it, already;
3. If you've been waiting for the other person to apologize, it might be time for you to be the one who extends the olive branch first;
4. If you're not sure what to say, it might be time to just jump in and start swimming;
5. If your righteous indignation has taken control of your spirit, it might be time to focus back on all that's good in the world.

Or you can just stay mad.

But, it might be easier to just give some people the benefit of the doubt and let them out of your doghouse; let them get back in your good graces, as it were.

Not only will that save you the trouble of having to build a bigger place for all these troublemakers, it will also create some much-needed space for the next batch of ne'er-do-wells who will likely be getting on your bad side, moving forward.