I tell ya, I haven’t been feeling real great lately. Some challenges at work are the main “issue”, along with a handful of other smaller, nagging items. Nothing life changing, to be sure.

For the most part, life is great!

It’s something we all need to remind ourselves of now and then, don’t we? Because, on the whole, most days are pretty amazing, and most things go right, and most people have your best interest at heart, most people really do care, most people are fair and empathetic.

Most people.

Then there are the vampires. Emotional energy vampires. It’s amazing to me how much energy one person, or group of people can drain from you. Today ended with a feeling of absolute exhaustion despite, other than my workout, no real physical activity taking place. It was simply the mental drain placed upon me by one individual.

I understand that no one person should have control over your well being. I understand that I shouldn’t let it get to me. I understand that I shouldn’t bring work home with me. But like most things, the theory is easier than the practice. Most of the time.

What was brought to my attention today in no uncertain terms, was the way I have been speaking to someone recently. Snappy….if you will. Surprisingly, it wasn’t until a particular moment today that it clicked in my brain exactly why. Due to this difficult person I’ve been dealing with, I have been… as many of us do… replaying both historical and future conversations in my head.

“I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” – Mark Twain

Again and again. Replaying. Stewing. If at that same moment something in our conversation wasn’t understood, or needed clarification, I was, without thinking, reacting as if I was speaking to the vampire, not my teammate.

Shame on me.

Unfair to them and unfair to myself – for letting another person any person have that much hold on my mental state.

Moving forward, I intend to do my best both to not stew, not replay and… if I must…to disengage/separate the conversation that may be going on in my head, with the conversation that is actually happening, right in front of me, and adjust my emotional response accordingly.

Have you experienced something similar? What do you do to stop the replay? What have you done to separate what’s going on in your monkey mind, with whats in front of you?

Comment below or message me.

See you on the journey…