On rougher days, don’t be afraid to stand firm with strong boundaries, for the sake of your own mental health and well being.


If people aren’t getting the message, don’t be afraid to hang your sign up and “close down”(emotionally) a little early that day

This week has been a rough one, not going to lie. I always know the real bad ones cause I can barely summon the mood to play any games, and the really awful weeks, almost no energy to game whatsoever. As I sit here now, emotionally battered and psychologically bruised, I have very little else but an exhausted body with which to keep me company. I mention all of this as kind of a reinforcement to my words today, as I figured it was worth it to mention as much, so that when I share them with you, it’s within the spirit that if I can still believe in the words of wisdom I’m sharing with you, in a downtrodden mood and a world weary state, then you know they still have some power, they still carry some weight, and I’m not bullshitting you.

Which is why today’s words of wisdom are a simple reminder: know when to zoom out. Life can be super brutal sometimes, and being too close to the action can really take it’s toll, and if you’re anything like me, both an empath and a cynic, you know it’s a recipe for disaster. So, when the every day is getting too hot and heavy, but you still need to keep going, cause you still have work to do, know how to zoom out, and not be “so close” to the action at hand, you may be able to create enough emotional distance for yourself to save some energy and continue to survive a bit longer.

I think, in some ways, there is a lot of strength in being vulnerable, and shows that one has the courage to face some of the more difficult exchanges of the everyday, by not shying away from visceral levels of pain, and know how to manage their own beings without totally shattering under the pressure. But being able to zoom out is key, when you need to kind of understand how trivial a lot of matters are, in the grand scheme of things. Being too close, too in your head, too myopic about the vastness of existence is an easy way to lose yourself in the moment, but being able to zoom out will help give you some well needed perspective on the matter, and might give you the metaphysical breathing room you need to finish the day out strong.

Sartre said “Life begins on the other side of despair”, and with that in mind, any moment that you confront which may drag you down, is just one more obstacle between you, and the rest of your life. That moment will be fleeting, your life, far less so. So do yourself a solid, and think about all of the moments after the unpleasant one you are facing, and you may already feel the satisfactions, joys, and contentment that may come along with them just long enough, that they will have already arrived.

As always, take care of yourself, and others.

~Pashford