NOTE! If you enjoy this post, please feel free to share and twitter it with the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/2nqqld . Thanks, I appreciate it!

QUICK!  Tell me the first thing that pops into your mind when you read:

VACATION

Is it…

• "ummm, why?"

Or perhaps

• "I’ve heard of such things and even experienced it 12 years ago!"

Or maybe

• "Vacation?  Oh, you mean those periods in my life when I’m not attached to my computer?"

Hmmm?

Now, step back for a moment…and imagine the following. 

You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike You have just finished your latest project, 3 days ahead of schedule!  Your family is atwitter with excitement, knowing that you will spending quality time with them at their Ultimate Dream Vacation of Anime Next.  You yourself are more ecstatic than bloggers who are reviewed by Darren Rowse by the notion that YES YES YES!  I’ve dotted all the t’s and crossed all the i’s and I am (gasp!) actually at a logical stopping point in my work; I can begin to anticipate the joys and thrills of actually possessing (insert dramatic musical tone here) A Real Life!

And then….right at the moment when the delusionary angels are singing and the pretty pink unicorns are frolicking across the ultimate fallacy of your well-earned Moment of Rest…. you either:

• Receive a client call that requires you to drop everything faster than molten lava and pour forth 37 18 hour workdays
• Gaze at your home as it is inundated by a freak flood from the Appalachian Mountains
• Discover that your child’s 2nd grade school dramatic play performance of "The Cat In The Hat Meets The Hand With The Bat" is smack dab in the middle of your vacation

Know what I mean?  In other words, one moment, you’re flying higher than an eagle who is one with The Force, and the next, you’re plummeted to the ground with nary a shred of positive emotion intact.

The above is what happens when the light at the end of the tunnel is really a freight train coming at you.  Your hopes are lifted higher and higher and higher until you realize that

OMIGOSH; I’m about to be flattened and there ain’t nuthin’ I can do about <WHOMP!> <WHOMP!> <WHOMP!> <WHOMP!> <WHOMP!> <WHOMP!> <whimper> <whimper> <whimper>

Not a good scenario, right?  But not to fear, bravely stoic readers, for I am about to reveal to you methods of dealing with such agonizing opportunities of changing your viewpoint!  Consider:

1.)  Life….it happens.

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason.  True, you might not know that reason during the moment in question, or 2 weeks later or 2 months later or 2 decades later….but every traumatic happening in your life ends up teaching you something if you give yourself permission to listen.

It’s similar to the art of creating Japanese katanas (samurai swords).   Pounded and folded more than 20 times, the steel used in their creation was tempered through brutally ferocious fire and quenched in water; each stressful action added to the overall future strength and durability. 

Emotional roller coasters can give you the same benefits.  Hey, it’s life, it happens, by the time you’ve read this article, whatever has stressed you has ALREADY occurred…what have you learned from it?  What can you take away and apply to your future adventures…so you’re not clobbered by disasters in the future?

Hmmm?

2.)  View it as an opportunity to re-group and ascend even higher.

Sure, you might have just completed putting the finishing touches on the Next Killer App That Will Cause World Harmony While Making Me Beeyons of Dollars, and then witnessed your computer implode after your child flung the contents of her sippy cup into your CPU.

Or…you might have finished writing a superlative blog post about protecting your precious home office from insidious stray juice invasions while simultaneously cooking dinner for your worshipful family, when said worshipful family instigates a 10 mile sprint within the confines of your precious home office that ended at your (now flattened) CPU.

Well, I’ve got news for you.  It happened. You can’t hit the REWIND button in life!  It’s over, it’s done with, your work is toast…but what remains in your mind is still as fresh as a lion-kill from the Serengeti daisy!  When you’re able to write again, give yourself permission to revisit your ideas and see how they can be tightened up and made to shine.  You might be surprised at how much better your second product is.

3.)  Breathe deeply.

The fact that you CAN still breathe shows you’re leagues ahead of those who can’t! 

See?

I’m not the only person who blogs about emotional roller coasters, of course: you can also read:

• Emotional Roller-Coaster: How to Deal with Emotions in a Relationship
• On an Emotional Roller Coaster
• Frustration and Emotional Roller Coasters
• Living on a Roller Coaster
• Dealing with the Jerk At Work
• Dealing with Emotions

Remember!

Life never is defined by a single moment - there’s always tomorrow, there’s always the future, there’s always a possibility for you to regroup, turn on a dime and ascend even higher.  But it’s up to YOU to give yourself permission to explore those opportunities…and make them happen for yourself.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

#BEGIN highlights of this blog writing post:

Beginners blogging tips:  Count your blessings; dead people are worse off than you.

Intermediate and/or Advanced blogging tips: Take an objective look at what happened to you and ask yourself, if I was to blog about what I learned from the distasteful utterly icky experience, what would I write?  How would I advise people to deal with it?

#END highlights of this blog writing post

ps - Did you know that Japanese katanas are used in competition today?  NOTE - do NOT attempt this at home.

pps - and speaking of the Light at the End of the Tunnel….

PRECIOIUS MOMENTS FIGURINE~LIGHT AT END OF TUNNEL~1990

Warning The light at the end of the tunnel Metal Sign

Precious Moments There's a Light at the End of Tunnel

Precious Moments Figurine - There's Light End of Tunnel

Light at the End of the Tunnel B.B. Watson AUTOGRAPHED

NEW The Light at the End of the Tunnel …

Related posts:

1. What beginners karate taught me about blogging
2. Embracing the freight train of blogging frustration
3. How much of the world revolves around you?
4. Amicably pummel your children - they’ll thank you for compelling them to face their fears

(By the way, if you have any questions about the topics in this posting "Friday Musings - The Light at the End of the Tunnel Is Really A Freight Train Coming At You - Dealing with Emotional Rollercoasters", do comment below - I'll try to clarify any issues).

If you find this blog posting useful, please feel free to share it below. And do feel free to let your friends know about it as well....I very much appreciate your time!

Like this article? Please feel free to subscribe to our updates!