This Year, I'm a Duck
Most people who know me would have expected me to say "turtle" or "owl." Duck probably seems a little out of left field.
So, let me explain.
I have a tendency to do one of two things when reacting to situations involving any level of stress or anxiety. On a good day, I'll be totally unreadable. I'll choose to stand still rather than get into the muck of whatever is causing the anxiety. At these times, I'll keep my thoughts and feelings to myself and no one will ever know there's a churning volcano of craziness rumbling below the surface. On a bad day, I'm Vesuvius. And everyone around me gets ashed on. Big time.
Now, everyone has bad days. I, however, began to feel like they were outweighing the good ones. It is true that we cannot expect to control our lives in such a way that no bad stuff ever hits us. But we should expect that we can control how we react to the ugly stuff. We can get ugly, too, or we can be ducks.
Obviously I mean this metaphorically. I intend to adopt two duck characteristics for this year. First, ducks jump in the water. You don't see many ducks standing around the edge of the pond, dipping their feet in the water to test it first. They don't call over the father duck to get his opinion on whether they should get in the water. They don't call the mother duck and run through eighteen possible outcomes that could occur should they get in the water. They don't make the little sister duck get in first to see if that makes it seem any more appealing. They just get in the water and start paddling. My "water" this next year might be good or bad experiences, but it will certainly consist of things that freak me out or make me nervous. Some of my best experiences have scared the hell outta me beforehand. Lately, I feel like I've backed away from the scary stuff that could actually be really incredible, choosing the safer and duller path instead. No more. I'm a duck now. I jump in.
Second, when ducks get out of the water, they just shake the water off. There are no ducks coming out of the water, whining about being wet and not having hands to use a towel for drying purposes. They also don't stay in the water forever, trying to avoid the perceived discomfort of getting out of the water. So, when the water takes the form of a tough situation, I will jump in it and then get out and shake it off. No letting it stick to me or pull me under. It's just water, so there's no need to get carried away here. If the water is something I thought was an awesome possibility and it turns out to be crap, shake that off, too. I'm a duck now. It's what we do.
So, that's my explanation. This is one of my new New Year's Resolutions. I've decided to also carry on with a few that have been successful because it seemed ridiculous to abandon things that are working. The duck thing is new, along with making sure I exercise and do something creative every day. I think it's going to be a more successful and positive year. That's the point, right?
Happy New Year, friends! I'd love to hear if you have resolutions, too!
So, let me explain.
I have a tendency to do one of two things when reacting to situations involving any level of stress or anxiety. On a good day, I'll be totally unreadable. I'll choose to stand still rather than get into the muck of whatever is causing the anxiety. At these times, I'll keep my thoughts and feelings to myself and no one will ever know there's a churning volcano of craziness rumbling below the surface. On a bad day, I'm Vesuvius. And everyone around me gets ashed on. Big time.
Now, everyone has bad days. I, however, began to feel like they were outweighing the good ones. It is true that we cannot expect to control our lives in such a way that no bad stuff ever hits us. But we should expect that we can control how we react to the ugly stuff. We can get ugly, too, or we can be ducks.
Obviously I mean this metaphorically. I intend to adopt two duck characteristics for this year. First, ducks jump in the water. You don't see many ducks standing around the edge of the pond, dipping their feet in the water to test it first. They don't call over the father duck to get his opinion on whether they should get in the water. They don't call the mother duck and run through eighteen possible outcomes that could occur should they get in the water. They don't make the little sister duck get in first to see if that makes it seem any more appealing. They just get in the water and start paddling. My "water" this next year might be good or bad experiences, but it will certainly consist of things that freak me out or make me nervous. Some of my best experiences have scared the hell outta me beforehand. Lately, I feel like I've backed away from the scary stuff that could actually be really incredible, choosing the safer and duller path instead. No more. I'm a duck now. I jump in.
Second, when ducks get out of the water, they just shake the water off. There are no ducks coming out of the water, whining about being wet and not having hands to use a towel for drying purposes. They also don't stay in the water forever, trying to avoid the perceived discomfort of getting out of the water. So, when the water takes the form of a tough situation, I will jump in it and then get out and shake it off. No letting it stick to me or pull me under. It's just water, so there's no need to get carried away here. If the water is something I thought was an awesome possibility and it turns out to be crap, shake that off, too. I'm a duck now. It's what we do.
So, that's my explanation. This is one of my new New Year's Resolutions. I've decided to also carry on with a few that have been successful because it seemed ridiculous to abandon things that are working. The duck thing is new, along with making sure I exercise and do something creative every day. I think it's going to be a more successful and positive year. That's the point, right?
Happy New Year, friends! I'd love to hear if you have resolutions, too!
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