Monsters look bigger than they are.

In cartoons monsters are always made to look big. Even when they are small, they have shadows and magnified features to make them scary. Why am I even talking about monsters? Because they are not just in cartoons, we have them in reality and like in cartoons they always appear bigger than they actually are.

Monsters are all the negative things we do not wish for. The disappointments, failures rejections, loss of loved ones and the list goes on. When we receive good news, we get excited, usually for a short time and move on. On the contrary, when we receive bad news of equal or less importance we are paralyzed and forced to reconsider our existence.

 Its natural, the mind magnifies undesired things. It doesn't mean that its the right thing to do. Decisions made in this state are not always the best and can lead to even further losses. So, what do you do when that test didn't go well, or you didn't get that promotion? or that paper didn't get accepted? Its tricky, at that moment in time, nothing seems to make sense.  The bad news is there is no substitute for pain, sorry folks, not amount of substitute activity will make the problems go away. All yourself to feel bad (whine, cry, make tea,  reach out to family whatever works for you) but make no decision, just feel it.

The goodness is time is the best remedy. With time, monsters start to look like what they really are; small tiny creatures that look ugly but not as powerful as they look. Revisit the situation after say a night's sleep, after the subconscious has processed the facts objectively. Have you grabbed any lessons? Do you have plan B? Yes? Good. Move on and carry your lessons with you.

Happy mid year and have a great weekend ahead!