How ya doing?

[KarateKen]

It's been a stressful week but I'm good now. Excited about the weekend.

[Patrick]

It's been a stressful week but I'm good now. Excited about the weekend.

Good to hear.

The 1-year-old's sleep hasn't sorted itself, but things are pretty good. My brother just booked a trip to come and visit next month, so that'll be fun, too.

[KarateKen]

It's been a stressful week but I'm good now. Excited about the weekend.

Good to hear.

The 1-year-old's sleep hasn't sorted itself, but things are pretty good. My brother just booked a trip to come and visit next month, so that'll be fun, too.

I hear it might take a while. Everyone I know with kids says that they never get a full night's sleep in the early years. Good luck, it sounds like nothing is easy about good parenting.

[Patrick]

Thanks KarateKen. We've seen some improvements over the last week, so we'll see!

[KarateKen]

Anytime I get down I try to remember my blessings. There are lots of people out there who have it a lot worse.

[Zaine]

Anytime I get down I try to remember my blessings. There are lots of people out there who have it a lot worse.

It's good to remember your blessings. That's something that I struggle with. I think that it's easy for us, as humans, to get so focused on what needs improvement that we forget to look back to see how far we've come. However, I think it's important to understand that, while there are people out there who have it worse, that does not invalidate our issues. You're allowed to focus on something bringing you down. I would advise against doing it so much that it becomes an anchor, which is something that I struggle with often, but it's okay to feel bad about a situation that you are in.

[Patrick]

I do a similar thing. My life is great. Having 1-year-old has challenges, but we are healthy and able to take care of ourselves, so the rest is just about navigation.

But I guess to Zaine's point, too, I just try to take a moment, take a breath, and decide how best to tackle a particular moment or issue. Not always a quick fix.

[KarateKen]

Anytime I get down I try to remember my blessings. There are lots of people out there who have it a lot worse.

It's good to remember your blessings. That's something that I struggle with. I think that it's easy for us, as humans, to get so focused on what needs improvement that we forget to look back to see how far we've come. However, I think it's important to understand that, while there are people out there who have it worse, that does not invalidate our issues. You're allowed to focus on something bringing you down. I would advise against doing it so much that it becomes an anchor, which is something that I struggle with often, but it's okay to feel bad about a situation that you are in.

I often get in the most trouble when I overthink my problems because that is how I dwell on them and make them worse, often times worse than they actually are. But I am learning from my spiritual sensei, the master, Alan Watts, who said,

"By thoughts, I mean specifically, chatter in the skull. Perpetual and compulsive repetition of words, of reckoning and calculating. I’m not saying that thinking is bad. Like everything else, it’s useful in moderation. A good servant but a bad master. "

I now work to think in moderation. It's a new approach for me but so far it is helping.

To your point about how it does not invalidate our issues, I think that's important to understand.

[bushido_man96]

That's a pretty good way to look at it. "Paralysis by Analysis" comes to mind.

I've been dealing with Meniere's acting up, and when it gets bad, I start to constantly worry that I'm going to have an episode kick off, and if it happens at work, that's bad news. I try not to dwell on it, but it's tough when the constant reminders are truly all in my head; in the form of tinnitus, dizziness, and pressure in my head. It's very frustrating.

[KarateKen]

Water heater broke and I have flooding, ruined carpet, black mold, and no hot water. Probably going to have to replace the carpet.