Freaking Out for Free
Consulting work had been nuts; my very reliable mechanics can't figure out what's wrong with my car; my TV shorted during a power surge and is getting fixed by a very jerky repair person; my printer refused to print and is in for repairs which I’ve now been told might take 6 weeks; and, on top of that I keep looking around my apartment wondering how I will possibly get all my things to fit into Stel's place which has no pantry and a whopping 3 small closets. And then, of course, there are the holidays and Stel had this great idea to give home-made food gifts and I decided it would also be fun to make our Christmas cards. I'm not sure what possessed me. And when Stel sees me looking around the apartment with that glazed stare he kisses me on the head and says, "Shhh…slow down...stop spinning your wheels." And he's right. And then I realize what I'm doing. My sister and I call it: "freaking out for free".
Freaking out for free is when you actually think up things to get upset about; things that aren't happening right at this very minute. Allowing myself to get all stressed out holds no value. It just eats up energy I could use to actually deal with what's going on. Something is either happening or it's not, it's dealable or it's not - and everything is dealable. Another familial saying, this one from my mother, comes to mind: "Give time to time". If you tell yourself you're going to give something x amount of time, then don't keep obsessing about it while you're giving it time. If my TV is supposed to be ready in a week, then wait the week before you worry what you're going to do if it's not ready in a week. Deal with it then. If not you've just freaked out for free during 7 days. You freaked out for nothing. If it's ready, well, there was no need to get upset. If it's not, well, then you'll figure something out.
Look, there are several things that could happen in life that would merit a little freaking: natural disasters, illnesses, overturning Roe vs. Wade, death of a loved one...get the picture? But freaking over things that start with "What if" is giving away energy for free. Keep your energy and use it for what's actually going on in your life. Yes, yes, easier said than done (isn't everything?) but it's a good to remind ourselves. God knows I need reminding fairly often (thanks Stel).
Freaking out for free is when you actually think up things to get upset about; things that aren't happening right at this very minute. Allowing myself to get all stressed out holds no value. It just eats up energy I could use to actually deal with what's going on. Something is either happening or it's not, it's dealable or it's not - and everything is dealable. Another familial saying, this one from my mother, comes to mind: "Give time to time". If you tell yourself you're going to give something x amount of time, then don't keep obsessing about it while you're giving it time. If my TV is supposed to be ready in a week, then wait the week before you worry what you're going to do if it's not ready in a week. Deal with it then. If not you've just freaked out for free during 7 days. You freaked out for nothing. If it's ready, well, there was no need to get upset. If it's not, well, then you'll figure something out.
Look, there are several things that could happen in life that would merit a little freaking: natural disasters, illnesses, overturning Roe vs. Wade, death of a loved one...get the picture? But freaking over things that start with "What if" is giving away energy for free. Keep your energy and use it for what's actually going on in your life. Yes, yes, easier said than done (isn't everything?) but it's a good to remind ourselves. God knows I need reminding fairly often (thanks Stel).
posted by Christa Ojeda @ 1:51 PM
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