When Life Hits Like a Truck

Your day has been terrible. Your week has been disastrous. And the month feels like a truck rammed into you, reversed over you, and then again ran over the human puddle that is you. But, voila, due to some miracle, you wake up in the hospital, not in the steamy hellfire you envisioned, saying hello to the devil.

That would have been a favor.

But here's another perspective - you're just having a bad time, it's not a bad life.

Oh wait, here's another perspective - this is just life, and shit happens, get over it.

Oh wait wait, here's yet another illuminating perspective - from the sum fuckery of the things that have happened to you, subtract those that you have no control over. What fuckery remains is that you can control. Action it, muffagas. Do something about it, and not think about how torturous things have been.

Calm down, wipe that nosebleed, don’t get triggered. I'm not discounting how bad it's been, but acknowledging it and moving on seems like a better idea than moping around with your hands in your pants.

I could insert here something about Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, Cicero, Epictetus and other stoic bros going through the hardest of times and still having their shit together. And the dudes write about it too! Talk about ice water in your veins. But why don’t you go do some homework and get a quick scan of Stoicism 101 in?

Anyway, you get the point. It's the mindset. Get over it, get past it, and go forth and conquer.

Two things that help when I feel like a knife's stuck in my windpipe:

1) I do something about it. Take action. Doing the thing makes you forget about the thing if you know what I mean. Because the thing then becomes a thing to be solved, not a thing to be kneaded and doughed into leavened bread. Basically, don't spend time with that shit.

2) I think "fuck, it happened, but thank fuck that nothing worse happened." I don't think I need to explain this. I mean, it's kind of obvious. Gratitude, thankful, hashtag blessed, and whatnot.

Build resilience - which in a tragicomic sort of way happens only when you go through shit - and be like a kid born in the 70s and 80s...ok, maybe even the 90s. Not any decade after.

What am I talking about? The kids who played outside without supervision. The ones who fell off bikes with no helmets, drank from rusted hoses (or even worse), and somehow lived to tell the tale. The critters who didn't have participation trophies but still showed up (or had to show up…parents were a different mold back then), and continued hobbling even after twisting both ankles 180 degrees. They’re the ones who knew that getting hurt was part of the game, not the end of it.

OR just watch this video.

Short one this week. Be strong, kids.

Parves

Things that resonated with me:

I like the idea of worry windows. Pre-ordained time to worry about anything/everything.

I’m neither an extrovert, nor an introvert. Im an extroverted introvert. It’s a real thing.

What's your go-to method when life decides to hit you like a hurricane? Comment, reply, whatever – I read everything.