Last updated on April 3rd, 2021 at 11:23 pm
I’ve been running some numbers lately, and it occurred to me that I don’t have a whole lot of time if I want to get the last 24 entries of the 31 Things series done before my July 15th birthday, so it’s time to get to grind mode and see what I can do!
Truth be told, not everything’s been amazing lately. I’m not the type of blogger who pretends that everything’s peachy all the time—life isn’t perfect, and sometimes you’ll need to overcome obstacles just to keep your sanity.
It used to be so hard to rile me up. I’ve always been about finding solutions, not dwelling on problems, convinced that most of the stuff we fret over simply wasn’t worth the energy. I used to know the few times I’d lost my temper with someone who wasn’t family—the time I’d been wrongly accused of screwing something up at work and tasked to fix it. The time I felt a peer was disrespecting me and undermining my position—one I’d worked so hard to get. Cool, calm and collected were the only ways I wanted to be, and little could get under my skin.
But these days, there’s someone out there consistently bringing my ugly side to light. They don’t respect me or my time, constantly lording their power rather than work with me to get results. They’re a bully to the core, and I’m not the type to take it lightly.
I’d be a fool to think I could solve these problems overnight, though. You can’t change people—you can change how they perceive you, but don’t expect a foul-tempered peer to become your BFF if they don’t want to. I’ve learned, instead, that we need to find coping mechanisms when faced with these struggles, and knowing our individual worth doesn’t always quite cut it.
When I’m so clouded by rage that I can barely see straight, I pick up an old habit of mine and draw. Draw all my feelings, feel it all flow through my pen, and let it express the things that words don’t quite do justice. I don’t always finish, but I assure you—I often feel far better once I’ve gotten a piece out.
So the next time you’re mad, don’t fly off the handle—harness that rage and do something with it! I’ve heard people say they aren’t creative, or complain that they aren’t good enough, but that’s not the point. If you’re creating, you should create for you. When you express yourself, make sure what you’re creating meets your needs. It’s like oxygen masks on an airplane—if you can’t help yourself and make sure you’re getting what you need to live, how can you expect to help anybody else?
They say that you shouldn’t get mad—you should get even; what better revenge is there than showing the people who piss you off just how great you can be?
May your worst moments help bring your best ones to light!
Until the next, mi amigos,
