Kelly Clarkson. The original American Idol and a vocal force to be reckoned with. I’ll never forget seeing her in concert right after she won, or attending her first week taping of her talk show. But I also love her fierceness and honesty.

This past week she released a deluxe version of her new album “Chemistry”. And on it was a song I can’t get enough of “You Don’t Make Me Cry”.

It’s definitely been my anthem this week. The chorus goes like this…

“You don’t make me cry
And I cry at everything
You don’t make me feel and I feel more than most now
That says somethin’, doesn’t it?
So I’m pickin’ you from my garden, weeds aren’t allowed in
Guess you missed that song
Feelin’ free since I found out you don’t have power
So you’re searchin’ for some”

Why do I love this song so much? Because it’s my personal reminder that the only people that affect my emotions are the ones I allow to.

I can’t change other people.
I can’t make other people do things my way.
I can’t make people behave the way I think they should.
I can’t make someone value me.

It’s why my therapist helped me realize that if I just focus on ME and making myself the best ME I can, I might just notice others make little changes too.

I also live by the advice my mom gave me….”no one can make you mad. You control your emotions. You ALLOW them to make you mad. Don’t let others steal your control.”

Today someone might be driving you mad.
They might have taken advantage of you.
Underestimated you.
Under appreciated you.
Tried to control you.

But you don’t have to let their “weeds” invade your “garden” (which btw that song she refers to is “Sober”, which is IMO the best Kelly song EVER).

They don’t have the power.
You do.

Take back control.