EMOTIONS
Northern Californians Put Out The Fires
1̶0̶ 3 Sedatives for Medium Rage
Carlo Zeno, my best friend on Medium (after Patrick Eades) invited me to document my strategies for taming my Medium rage. Carlo is a self-reported “basket case” according to his profile. He’s also an expat. I think it’s rather sweet that he can demonstrate kindness and physical cordiality with his ex.
Carlo asked me to deliver 10 tips for when things don’t go your way as a writer. However, we’re in the midst of a global attention recession. I won’t be making a list of 10 out of respect for your valuable time and attention.
The paring down of the list has nothing to do with the fact that I forgot to go to the store yesterday and even less to do with the fact the fridge’s fruits and vegetables have dwindled down to half a mini watermelon, a bagged salad of questionable age, one avocado, and no kale.
Kale is life and kale is love, so this cannot continue.
Luckily, we Californians have access to some of the most readily available produce in the world. Grapes, nuts, citrus, tomatoes, etc. It’s all here. It’s easy to be chill when you are lucky enough to have access to this inexpensive bounty of fresh foods. Hopefully, I’m doing the agricultural scene here justice while also not taking it for granted.
While I love Carlo like the brother I’ve never met and have only written back and forth to for a few weeks, a characteristic we do not have in common is his overdone emotionality. I’m a little more reserved and restrained than some other writers. With that out of the way, let’s get on the list.
The List
The only 10 you’re getting is evidence that the 10BASE-T is plugged in to the PC I built — and my beautiful brain.
So let’s get on to the calming listicle, brimming with potential energy. Here’s what to do if:
- Your numbers aren’t doing so hot. Life isn’t all about claps, follows, highlights, and ♥private notes♥. When you’re feeling down because your beautiful brain child went over like a lead balloon, it can be hard as a rock. You can still mix your metaphors at the local coffee shop or natural history museum. Take the road less traveled and see if you can impress some septugenarians with your wits at the local bingo hall. This isn’t a slight on older folks — the hall is host to wonderful people with diverse life experiences. They have the documented will to keep going, to grow, and to change.
- Your numbers aren’t doing so hot. Sure, seeing that read percentage is in the lower double digits and that can be rough on the ego. However, your worth and value as a human are a full 100% in stark contrast to your stats. As people, we can get lost in the shuffle of constant self-improvement. A website, even a great one, can’t take away how great you are as a person. In your quest to become a better human, you may forget that you’re a pretty great one already. Not perfect, but pretty damn great.
- Your numbers aren’t doing so hot. Sure the earnings can be paltry, but who cares? You just received $14.75 for spouting the opinions, thoughts and ideas that were rattling around in your brain already. Plus, you didn’t just receive $14.75 — you received $14.75 and the attention of smart, funny, witty women¹. Dreamz.
Parting Thoughts
Self-doubt, rage, feelings of worthlessness, and other negativity about your ability are natural and are even protective at times. When we don a cloak of insecurity and sadness, there will be a pivotal time when we may be able to similarly doff said cloak. You are not your stats. You are you and that’s pretty awesome in and of itself.
There are an estimated 200 billion galaxies in the universe as we currently understand it. I’m no Carl Sagan, but you are here. Everything we hold important, cherish, keep as a memory is here on this tiny planet we call home. In the scope of galaxies, we are insignificant. In the scope of a singular species on only one planet, we are the most significant. And in this significant grouping, there is only one you. Keep going.
Thank you, Carlo, for the invite.
¹or men. Or both. Or neither. Just go with it. It’s a narrative flow, not an indictment of your perfectly valid lifestyle.
