When something small sets me off…

The other day I got really upset about something small and it was about to ruin my whole day, but a few key things brought it back.

I want you to glean ALL of the lessons from this, so I’m about to get completely open, honest, and vulnerable.

Yesterday I left my phone at work and didn’t realize until I got home. I did not have time to go back to work. Luckily, a coworker who lives closer to me was still there and said she’d bring it home so I could swing by later.

But my mood was completely ruined. I was really mad and upset.

So I asked myself, “Is this anger serving a purpose?”

And then I responded, to myself, “Well there are SO many things I need my phone for right now. I need to track a package that’s going to a friend, I need to do my daily Duolingo practice, add a few errands to my list, and look at the meal plan to see what’s for dinner.”

So basically, I had all this energy and nowhere to go, just constant reminder after reminder that I was missing something crucial to my life system.

And that was upsetting! So I was like, okay, there’s the reason for my anger, there’s this energy attached to this situation which I cannot deny.

But what I CAN’T allow to happen, is for this energy to cause pain to the people around me. My partner was driving me home, and while I could have ranted at him the whole time, that would have just transmitted my negative energy to him more.

So I kept to myself. Trust me, I sat fuming and he could tell I was mad as hell, but we kept our cool.

When we got home I was stomping and slamming. We walked the dog in silence. And then we sat down and smoked a little weed.

I am a FIRM believer that if something helps you get up again and be your best self, it is WORTH IT.

I felt so much better that I got up and did a cardio workout. Normally when I’m really upset cardio is the last thing I can force myself to do. But since the smoking had made me feel a little better, and I knew I really needed it, I was able to get up and get it done.

And it felt SO GOOD. As my body heated up, the tension just melted away. My mind was racing with ideas, and I realized that a decision I had been wondering about was obvious: if it’s not a HELL YES, then it’s a HELL NO.

In this case, it was referring to a virtual assistant position I was considering applying for. I was weighing the pros and cons but then I realized: why the hell would I allow any cons into my life at all?

This year is about FLOW and I have ZERO time for anything that doesn’t FULLY complete me and bring me joy. So that’s gonna be a no from me dawg.

I won’t bore you with the details of the rest of the evening, the point is I was able to bounce back faster than ever before, and use my angry energy for ultimately positive, productive actions.

I was really grateful that my awareness and communication skills helped me to sail through that storm of emotion. For a little perspective:

I could have let my frustration out on my partner causing an argument.
Then I would have felt so bad I would have just skipped my workout.
My mind would go numb, and I wouldn’t know what to do or say.
I’d end up bingeing on junk food and tv the rest of the night, feeling guilty about not being able to get anything done.

That is what happens when we let our emotions get the best of us.

But not this time.

You can have strong emotions over silly things, as long as you know how to navigate them.

You have to communicate to your people, “I am just so frustrated right now because I have all of this energy, but I don’t currently have a way to get it out.”

You need to take care of your health.

And you need to focus the mind.

With these skills you can handle just about anything.

So how do you learn to navigate the stormy sea of moving emotion? (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)

I discuss these techniques in more detail in my new book, “Protect Your Energy.”

It’s not quite available YET but fill out the form below to be the first to find out when it is!