What drives you crazy?
Is it a certain sound or noise? Bad driving? Incessant chatter by others while standing in line, or in a movie theatre? How about pouring your heart out to someone while watching their diverted eyes take your attention elsewhere? Does it drive you nuts when you know someone is upset but chooses going radio silent instead of effectively communicating? And don’t you just love it when there are 40 shopping carts lined up at the grocery store, but you choose the one with wobbly wheels and a squeaking noise that can be heard in the furthest corner of the market?
All of these things and the following bother me: Constant loud sounds like a chainsaw or jack hammer. Bagpipes! Oh my word - how I hate them! They always remind me of a cat fight or the reason my crying turns into hysterics at funerals. And let’s not forget about a dentist’s drill. Someone peel my off the ceiling. Then there are instruments and voices. As much as I love music, I wonder why the songs I dislike the most are overplayed. Take “Carol of the Bells” for instance. Does this redundant tune have to be played on every other commercial during the holidays? LOL!
One of my top ten pet peeves is my decision making being delayed by others; having to wait for a call-back, or their verdict before I can move on. Is it the inconvenience? Do I feel superior because I’m reliable? Not. At. All. I just simply want to check things off my list. If truth be told, I don’t trust my memory. I have to remove files from my brain in order to store more stuff. The removed files are then gone forever. FYI - Chess was never my favorite game either. It’s not that I don’t like looking ahead. I’m just not very good at it!
Wanting things right now may or may not be an only child syndrome for me…oh who am I kidding? It totally is! I don’t care how many years I’ve tried to tame this relentless beast; it raises its ugly head time and time again. It all boils down to letting things go that I can’t control. Most of the things I need to let go of end up with claw marks from holding on as long as possible. The ole replacing frustration, stress, intolerance, and impatience with healthy coping mechanisms routine. Easier said than done my friends. I’m still and always will be a work in progress. Some days I take a deep breath and think, “why do I feel this way?” Other days I let all those feelings out and show EVERYONE how my old baggage is still being unpacked, but I hesitate to let go of that one extra pair of underwear just in case I will have to use it. This comes complete with a neon sign on my forehead that says, “I am irritated, you pushed me to my limit and now I’m going to look like the crazy one because you drove me there”. I hate it when this happens. It always makes me feel 100 times worse.
SO – I find myself in this conundrum right now. Do I wait for a call back from a book signing venue to set up an event? Or do I follow up with a follow up call? Or pay him a visit in person? I have followed up once and hear the supervisor wants to return my call. Do I follow up with other people I have left messages with? What is the balance between trying to be successful in my own mind and being a pain in the @$$? What do you do? Seriously, I am asking what do you do?!
I hope you got a smile from this newsletter. My intent wasn’t to add more frustration to your lives by bringing your triggers to the forefront. Some of us find humor in things that are real and relatable to us. At least I do. Like most of my writing, it also serves as a reminder to practice MY healthy coping mechanisms instead of falling back on old displays of aggravation. They can’t be old behaviors if we’re still doing them, right?
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