Alright, so yesterday I decided to dive into this “misery and pain” project. I had this idea to create a… well, I’m not even sure what it was supposed to be, honestly. Something about tracking negative emotions, maybe? Anyway, I started by grabbing a notebook and a pen – old school, I know. I figured I’d just jot down every time I felt annoyed, frustrated, or just plain blah.
The Setup
- Notebook: Check.
- Pen: Check.
- Willingness to embrace the suck: Questionable.
I sat down at my desk, all ready to go, and… nothing. I just stared at the blank page. It felt weird to actively look for negative feelings. Like, I was inviting them in or something. I sipped my coffee, scrolled through my phone for a bit, and finally, bam! Annoyance. My internet was being super slow. I wrote that down. “Internet slow, grrr.” Real profound, I know.
Then, I tried to get some work done, but I kept getting distracted. Every little thing started to bug me. The way my chair squeaked, the sound of my neighbor’s dog barking, the fact that I couldn’t find my favorite stapler. I wrote all that stuff down, too. My notebook started to look like a list of complaints.
After a few hours, I took a break and went for a walk. Even then, I was noticing all the annoying things – litter on the sidewalk, a car alarm going off, some kids screaming. Seriously, was the whole world out to get me? I scribbled it all down, feeling pretty ridiculous, but hey, I was committed to the project.
Later, I tried to cook dinner, and of course, I burned the onions. More misery, more pain. I added it to the list. By the end of the day, my notebook was pretty full. And you know what? It actually felt kind of… good? Like I had gotten all that negativity out of my system, at least for a little while.
I guess the point of all this, if there even is one, is that sometimes it’s okay to acknowledge the bad stuff. Not dwell on it, but just… notice it. And maybe write it down in a slightly messy, totally un-professional notebook. It won’t magically fix everything, but it might make you feel a little bit lighter. Or maybe it’s just a waste of time. Who knows? I’m still figuring it out.
