I’ve been giving some thought to things I’d like to change – about myself, that is.
I have a short fuse. While that can be righteously entertaining for some people in my life (my kid has been known to pull up a seat to watch me lay into someone on the telephone… sad but true), it isn’t healthy for me. Don’t even get me started on the variety of colorful phrases I can produce while driving.
Sure, I vent… rage… and then it’s mostly over. I’ve always assumed that dealing with issues in that way is preferable to shoving the feelings into a tight ball and just festering. But sometimes that hair trigger reaction comes at a high cost. I have regrets for what I said, other people can be hurt, and it’s probably not the best thing for my body. All that spazzin’ out – even temporarily- is likely shaving years off my life.
On the flipside, I don’t want to lose the humor that can emerge in these situations. I also don’t want to be a doormat (been there, done that). There must be a middle ground.
Viktor Frankl was a powerful writer. I jotted down the following quote years ago and have referred to it from time-to-time… still, I can’t seem to own this … and I want to own this…
He said it better than I ever could:
