So right now, I am afraid of something. I’m not going to write about what it is, for two reasons. 90% of you will tell me that I am being silly and delusional. But 10% of you will tell me that I have reasons to be paranoid, which will make me even more paranoid.
Your writing speaks truth. It's raw and real and your vulnerability in your words hits home. When you are in DJ mode that's not the absence of fear, thats a connection to the strongest part of yourself. Pure joy. Thank you for posting staying real. It matters.l, and I appreciate it.
I respect your wanting to keep your worry private and understand. But I’m curious if this is a personal worry or a political/economic/societal worry. I don’t know much about finance but for about a year now I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that we’re approaching some kind of massive disaster and the feeling is only getting amplified. I feel like we’ve been kicking the can down the road for longer than anyone thought possible and now the bill is coming due. I know I’m not the only one.
To me it’s anxiety. Like your psycho/spiritual attribute, it has required lots and lots of management over most of my life. In your essay, there are latent mantras I think. For me mantras have been management essential management tools. Write it out. This too shall pass. Get out of your head and into life. Everything is going to be alright. My list? Too many! But, a sampling beyond those you hint at that I too utilize: I will not should on myself (hat tip to Joanne Woodward who needlepointed a small placque for her husband Paul Newman who kept it on his desk always); A job once begun is a job half done; And one that has sustained me for several years, Be Here Now.
Jared, you are a cool dude and smart as hell. So what if some self righteous jack-ass knocks you down a peg or two. Look at it like a quality stock with an upward trend. Even quality stocks have down legs on their upward trend. That is you, so don't sweat the small stuff.
I can’t even imagine coming out about true worries/fear to more than MAYBE my spouse or adult children. Writing about it and posting is raw, real and takes a lot of courage.
I have a fair amount of exposure to family with mental illnesses, and am thinking that maybe writing helps you adjust and reframe.
I have a friend who calls me to talk her off the ledge when she goes into a worry vortex. I became an expert dealing with my husband's irrational fears. It got annoying enough a few times that I started to bet him and now he has to learn to dance and play Bridge because I won my bets. It was over stuff that doesn't matter in the big picture like qualifying exams and his grades (all A's, unlike me who sometimes gets a B) He was afraid of losing his job and each time got praised to the skies with bonuses and promotions. I do it far less, but I do it too. This anxiety has led to over achievement and large savings so it is not all bad. My low worry friends are frequently in a pickle because they do not anticipate or prepare for bad things. This can also lead to happiness as I am extremely cheerful due to low expectations.
You laid it all out in Street Freak so I just can't picture you canceled and there is always the Streisand Effect if it were to happen. Subscriptions could go way up. Dave Chappelle became more popular through efforts to cancel him.
I am not particularly religious but ... “AMEN”! I suspect that even those who use alcohol (just a guess) or drugs to “chill out” find that the chilling is only temporary. And then what? More drugs and alcohol? And there in lies the problem; reality always comes sauntering back. When you figure out how to keep that headphone vibe tooling along outside of the DJ booth please let us all know. Great article!
I think we are wired this way. Low-probability events do happen, and worrying about them is not irrational, but being consumed by worry about them is irrational. My typical approach when attacked by such worries is first to consider if there is anything simple or low-cost that I could do to protect myself or to improve my situation "in the event". Then, once I have done what I can, I try to develop a Plan B for how I might respond so that I feel somewhat more prepared. Lastly, go on with life and hope for the best. Staying active, busy, and productive is, for me at least, the best antidote to such worries, after I have taken the steps above.
Your writing speaks truth. It's raw and real and your vulnerability in your words hits home. When you are in DJ mode that's not the absence of fear, thats a connection to the strongest part of yourself. Pure joy. Thank you for posting staying real. It matters.l, and I appreciate it.
I respect your wanting to keep your worry private and understand. But I’m curious if this is a personal worry or a political/economic/societal worry. I don’t know much about finance but for about a year now I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that we’re approaching some kind of massive disaster and the feeling is only getting amplified. I feel like we’ve been kicking the can down the road for longer than anyone thought possible and now the bill is coming due. I know I’m not the only one.
Something else you could try is to imagine the worst case scenario and write a plan for how you would deal with the situation if it arose.
To me it’s anxiety. Like your psycho/spiritual attribute, it has required lots and lots of management over most of my life. In your essay, there are latent mantras I think. For me mantras have been management essential management tools. Write it out. This too shall pass. Get out of your head and into life. Everything is going to be alright. My list? Too many! But, a sampling beyond those you hint at that I too utilize: I will not should on myself (hat tip to Joanne Woodward who needlepointed a small placque for her husband Paul Newman who kept it on his desk always); A job once begun is a job half done; And one that has sustained me for several years, Be Here Now.
Jared, you are a cool dude and smart as hell. So what if some self righteous jack-ass knocks you down a peg or two. Look at it like a quality stock with an upward trend. Even quality stocks have down legs on their upward trend. That is you, so don't sweat the small stuff.
Check out “the chimp paradox” if you haven’t already. You can get it as an audio book too.
I can’t even imagine coming out about true worries/fear to more than MAYBE my spouse or adult children. Writing about it and posting is raw, real and takes a lot of courage.
I have a fair amount of exposure to family with mental illnesses, and am thinking that maybe writing helps you adjust and reframe.
Thanks for making us think.
I have a friend who calls me to talk her off the ledge when she goes into a worry vortex. I became an expert dealing with my husband's irrational fears. It got annoying enough a few times that I started to bet him and now he has to learn to dance and play Bridge because I won my bets. It was over stuff that doesn't matter in the big picture like qualifying exams and his grades (all A's, unlike me who sometimes gets a B) He was afraid of losing his job and each time got praised to the skies with bonuses and promotions. I do it far less, but I do it too. This anxiety has led to over achievement and large savings so it is not all bad. My low worry friends are frequently in a pickle because they do not anticipate or prepare for bad things. This can also lead to happiness as I am extremely cheerful due to low expectations.
You laid it all out in Street Freak so I just can't picture you canceled and there is always the Streisand Effect if it were to happen. Subscriptions could go way up. Dave Chappelle became more popular through efforts to cancel him.
Great stuff as always
I am not particularly religious but ... “AMEN”! I suspect that even those who use alcohol (just a guess) or drugs to “chill out” find that the chilling is only temporary. And then what? More drugs and alcohol? And there in lies the problem; reality always comes sauntering back. When you figure out how to keep that headphone vibe tooling along outside of the DJ booth please let us all know. Great article!
I think we are wired this way. Low-probability events do happen, and worrying about them is not irrational, but being consumed by worry about them is irrational. My typical approach when attacked by such worries is first to consider if there is anything simple or low-cost that I could do to protect myself or to improve my situation "in the event". Then, once I have done what I can, I try to develop a Plan B for how I might respond so that I feel somewhat more prepared. Lastly, go on with life and hope for the best. Staying active, busy, and productive is, for me at least, the best antidote to such worries, after I have taken the steps above.