The Main Attraction – Are You Being Taken for a Ride?
It’s pretty routine to sit down with my man and unwind over dinner as we dish out the happenings of the day. My stories are usually a little more colorful than his, but I own that. On any given day, I can go through every color in the box if I allow myself to be subjected to the madness. I’ve chalked it up to the fact that I get agitated more easily than does he and am a little less forgiving of ill-mannered behaviors. One day, after listening to one of my very long sagas, he calmly said to me, “You can’t keep letting people take you on a rollercoaster.” He said this while moving his arm in a waving motion. At the moment, I was more stuck on the movement of his arm than on what he was actually saying. Is he mocking me right now? Time after time, he’d say this to me. And I’d think to myself, “What is this reference to a rollercoaster, and why is he gesturing like I’m an idiot?” It wasn’t until I was having a conversation with someone about how someone else made them feel that it became crystal clear. It hit me like a ton of bricks. As she went on and on about how painful they’d made her feel, I remembered other times when she expressed instances of being made to feel like crap by other people. Then these same people would have her laughing at their jokes or crying with them about their problems. Lunacy!
This rollercoaster, this emotional rollercoaster can take you out. See, I too had been guilty of letting someone take me on this ride. Up and down, up and down, from happy to sad to mad to unappreciated and undervalued to agitated then back up to happy again. I had also felt the mental fatigue caused by constantly being on this massive, ever moving ride. My guy was right. I was letting other people dictate my mood---all of the time. And after listening to someone else cry their woes, I realized that so many of us fall victim. I have been at the top of that rollercoaster just hanging in the balance more often than I care to admit. I can just see myself there. Dangling. Anticipating. Then having those few seconds at the top quickly snatched away in a death defying drop. No sooner than I can catch my breath I am swiftly being thrusted to the top again. It’s like emotions on steroids.
Pause. Check yourself, girl! Bring those wheels to a screeching halt and get off immediately. It’s just too exhausting. Take people and situations for who and what they are. Don’t fall for the hysterics. People will have you coming and going, all at the same time. That’s just too much damn power. It’s time to cut the blood supply that feeds these mood leeches. You know exactly who they are. Believe it or not, they know you as well. They’ve seen the damage they can do to you, and they love it. Satisfaction is definitely guaranteed. The sight of you frantically riding up and down gives them great joy. Cut it! Although not easy, I’ve learned to smile and nod my head. When I see the signs ahead, I keep it moving. No longer will I ride because that tumultuous attraction is closed due to mechanical difficulties.