Life is SO Unfair!

But it is what it is, so…

Every once in a while, when I struggle with coming to grips with one of life’s thornier questions, I Google the question to see what answers I might find online.

Google, my guru, therapist, and mentor in a box.

And so it was recently. I had another blog post partially written, but over the last few days I hadn’t had the energy to finish it. It was way too positive, something I had not been feeling during most of that week. Maybe I just wouldn’t publish an article this week. Who would notice, really?

But then I began the peel back the layers of why I felt the way I did, at first blaming others for letting me down and not treating me the way I felt I deserved to be treated. A longtime friend. My boss. A supermarket cashier.

I kept peeling. Eventually, I got down to the core of why I felt so demoralized. What I discovered there didn’t really surprise me; I have actually been aware of it off and on for years. But this wasn’t one of those self-discoveries I’m particularly proud of. Not at all.

I felt disheartened because, dammit, I felt that life is just so unfair.

Rationally, I know better. I mean we’ve all heard the question, “Whoever said that life was fair?” It’s really not. Bad stuff happens to good people. It always has. But in my mind, that’s not the way it should be.

Time and time again throughout my entire life, when I’ve encountered a situation or an experience that I considered unfair, I’ve reacted in the same way — hot, angry tears spring up, my rational mind shuts down, and it feels as though my heart has turned into a rock.

I mean, why do I give so much and get so little in return? I have been more than a dedicated partner, employee, friend. Why shouldn’t I expect flowers for no reason, a significant raise, or some unsolicited encouragement and support in return? I’ve been there for them, right? Shouldn’t it work both ways?

Life is just SO unfair!

When I finally recognized that this fairness/unfairness concept was once again the source of my discouragement, I wanted to come to terms with it once and for all (which of course probably hasn’t happened — we are all works in progress). As I said, rationally, I know life isn’t fair. Why do I keep expecting it to be, only to be disappointed over and over again?

So I turned to my guru Google, and I typed in the search box, “How do I stop expecting life to be fair?”

The first page of results from that search contained articles that pretty much told me I should put on my big girl panties and just deal with it. Not very helpful because, as I said, my kneejerk response to anything I perceive to be unfair has always been immediate and automatic. I wanted guidance on how to change how I’ve been feeling in recent days. Telling me to just get over it didn’t cut it.

I kept scrolling. On page three of the Google search, I came across the first article that struck me as helpful. Once again, it didn’t tell me anything that, on a rational level, I didn’t already know. But it explained my dilemma in a way that I could embrace at a deeper level, making it possible for me to break the downward mood spiral I’d been on and giving me the energy to write again.

You see — and you may already totally get this, but I obviously still needed enlightenment — that sense of unfairness unfailingly occurs when we set expectations for people, places, and things that we have no control over. When those expectations aren’t met, we experience disappointment, resentment, and maybe even anger. We focus on what we believe should have happened or should have been said or done. We justify our reaction by thinking that we would have behaved differently, or that we deserve to have our expectations met because, doggone it, we’re hard-working or loving or honest or thoughtful, so we should get something in return for that.

And sometimes that happens. But quite often, it doesn’t.

Rather than get all worked up about it, then sink into a quagmire of defeat and lethargy, the emotionally healthier approach (and physically healthier approach, for that matter) involves resetting one’s perspective. Instead of mulling over the perceived affront or letdown, concentrate on all that is wonderful and good about your life. You’ll immediately feel an energy shift. I certainly did.

So a couple of things didn’t go the way I wanted them to. Big whoop. I have my health, my family, my friends, my house, my yard…and that’s just for starters. I have Google to pose questions to.

But expecting people or circumstances to behave a certain way is simply unrealistic. It’s like expecting perfection from the weather, or for travel plans to go flawlessly, or basing our financial future on purchasing lottery tickets. Expectations over things we can’t control create stress. Releasing those expectations creates energy.

I hope if you’ve come across this post, that it energizes you as well. Let’s face it, the world needs all the positive energy it can get. Each of us can contribute to that.

Note: This article is a modified version of a post I originally wrote in April 2016 for my blog, WriteSuccess.