If you’re feeling helpless, help someone. ~Aung San Suu Kyi
Today I was totally deflated. It was the fourth time since the beginning of the year that I’ve had to take my laptop into the shop to be fixed. It’s been doing some strange things such as vaporizing a file with important work in it–vaporizing it to the point where there was no trace of it, even using specialized software to find it.
When I picked up my computer last week, after they told me the sad news that they tried everything to recover the file and just couldn’t, the technician assured me that they thoroughly checked it out and cleaned it up and I shouldn’t have any problems.
For the past few days my computer worked fine. I was glad to have the problems behind me…or so I thought.
Until this morning when I turned on my laptop to use it and found that Word, Excel, and Powerpoint had mysteriously disappeared.
At first, I thought I just needed to turn off and then turn on my computer.
No luck.
Instead of using the shortcut on the task bar, I tried to find the icons on my desktop.
Not there.
Looked for them in the list of programs.
Not there.
Tried turning off and turning on the computer again.
No help.
That’s when I had to face what I didn’t want to face: there was something seriously wrong with my laptop and it had to go back to the shop.
Again.
I felt like someone let the air out of me just like an old birthday balloon that was once full of bounce and floated near the ceiling and now was dull, slack, and dragged along the floor.
Ugh.
I had a lot on my To Do list and couldn’t afford to mope listlessly about. I thought that giving myself a break for a half hour to just sit with my feelings would help me process and release them.
No help.
Then I thought sitting in the sun would help. Sometimes I find being outside breathing fresh air and absorbing the sun’s warmth into my being can be very soothing and comforting.
No help today.
I tried listening to uplifting music and all that did was annoy me (!!).
Sometimes straightening up my workspace or working on an easy or fun work task helps me shift gears, but no help today.
I didn’t know what the heck to do to get out of my own way and press that reset button!
Turns out, a friend of mine sent me a few pages to critique (we’re in a writing group together). I started working on them and soon I noticed my mood changing.
Finally!
That’s when I remembered today’s quote by Aung San Suu Kyi: If you’re feeling helpless, help someone.
It helped me and I think it can help you, too.
Action Plan: Keep today’s quote handy–tape it in a place where you’ll see it often. The next time you have a day where you feel mopey, sad, worried, angry, frightened, or just not yourself, remember to reach out and help somebody!
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve found this quote helpful. Also, if you know of someone who’s having a bad day or going through a rough patch, feel free to pass along this post. Thanks!
I’m proud of you!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
Yes I Can Pep Talks 
Often it’s the last thing I want to do, but the best thing– to get my mind off myself. I can offer to babysit for my baby grandson or go take my Mom out for lunch. Later I’ll be able to see my problems in perspective. Thanks for this important reminder.
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Hi Julie,
Babysitting for your grandson and spending time with your Mom sound like good methods of grounding yourself. The special people in our lives are cherished for a reason: they help us see the goodness we have to offer the world. I’m so glad you have the opportunity to spend time with them.
Thank you for sharing what you do to press the reset button!
Your Friend and Pep Pal,
Lauren
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