Self-Destruct Button

“If life’s so hard already, why do we bring more trouble down on ourselves?  What’s up with the need to hit the self-destruct button?”

                                                                                                -Grey’s Anatomy

I used to be notorious for hitting my own self-destruct button. I would blame myself and beat myself over instances I had no control over. It used to be “I didn’t get cast in a show.” Push the self-destruct button.“I wish I would have done better in college.” Push the self-destruct button. Now, it’s “I keyed in the wrong numbers and screwed up a report.” Push the self-destruct button.

t’s so easy to beat yourself up for life’s troubles. All I can say is don’t…proceed with caution. Enjoy the moment, learn from it and move on.

Awhile back, I had to wear this rubber band bracelet. It was given to me by my therapist in an effort to calm my anxiety, stress, and moments of flashbacks. The moment an “episode” came on I was allowed to give myself two minutes to think about it, cry, panic, do whatever I want. At the end of the “episode,” I was to turn the bracelet inside out or right side in and move on. This was the best coping mechanism I was given.

This coping mechanism allowed me to feel my emotions, my pain…whatever it was I was feeling at that moment. And then, I flipped the bracelet and it all went away. I was able to continue for the rest of my day.

There were days I flipped that bracelet a 100x. There were days I flipped it 25x. Those days grew far and in between and after about six weeks of wearing the bracelet, I no longer have to wear it. That bracelet (to me) symbolized power and allowed me to feel my emotions and not hide. We cannot hide or bury our emotions, like lava eventually it will just come shooting to the surface destroying everything in its path.

Life is hard. Life will always be hard. There is no need to make it harder. On my wall are the words, “Live, Laugh, Love,” such simple words that hold so much power.

LIVE: “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson

LAUGH: “Laugh as much as you breathe…”-Author Unknown

LOVE: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”-I Corinthians 13

Live. Laugh. Love. In the end, there is always love. So, tomorrow be good to yourself. Be kind to yourself. When life’s troubles start to get you down, remember it is okay to panic and feel it out. Allow yourself the joy to learn from that moment and move on; and put that self-destruct button away. Okay?