After a weekend of drenching rains in the Mid-Atlantic which have proceeded to flood the main floor of my house, I thought I’d use my periodic bouts of reacting (versus calm responding) to
add a humorous yet helpful post to the blog. For background – in 2003, the whole first floor flooded (we have no basement) and we ripped out everything, replaced all the carpets, and had a contractor “fix” the outside problem. Well, 3 years later, it is deja vu.
Here are my top 10 ways not to handle such a frustrating, stressful, inconvenient, and ultimately expensive unwanted act of nature. (Keep in mind that while I may have had a few moments where I lost my calm, I haven’t lost my mind completely and started actually doing all these “how-not-to” things. Although, I will admit to doing a lot of #1.)
- Scream, yell, and curse so much that you start inventing new profanity.
- Make your relationship an emotional litter box and take it all out on her because it is convenient.
- Break and damage other items in the house because it is a convenient target for your anger and frustration.
- Kick the dog/cat/parrot/rabbit or other furry friend.
- Make the nearest wall a punching bag (walls are hard, knuckles are fragile and it does no good for the wall, the knuckles, or the problem at hand).
- Make far-reaching, expensive decisions while in the throes of emotion and upheaval.
- Get so pissed off that you engage in other dangerous behavior you might regret (like reckless driving, drinking too much, etc.).
While I certainly have no real answer as to why these “life-happens” things actually happen, I think the bottom line is to just keep trudging forward even when conditions are less than ideal. In the grand scheme of things, resolution will happen at some point since all things tend toward a state of balance. It’s maintaining calm and perspective in the middle of it all that is the biggest challenge.
- What are some real ways you’ve successfully navigating some of life’s challenging moments?
- What are some humorous ways that weren’t so successful in navigating these moments?
I’d love to read some of your experiences in the comments….