As human beings, we all understand that there are some people in this world who are not so awesome, to put it nicely. I'm not talking about dictators, murderers, or criminals. Just people who are difficult and generally unpleasant to be around. We commonly refer to these people as assholes, jerks, douche bags, or dicks. Or we just say they're "not nice" if we want to keep it more PG rated. I generally surround myself with pretty cool people and I like to think I'm a pretty good guy, so I haven't had too many encounters with these types of people in my adult life, but inevitably it happens every so often. There's always the occasional Facebook troll, or douche bag co-worker, etc. In my thirty-five years on this planet, I've definitely learned that you can strive to be the best and most decent person you can, but no matter what, there will always be jerks out there. I know, it sounds so simple, and everyone is probably thinking "yeah, we know", but it's true. There are some people out there who don't understand what life is all about, they don't understand the proper way to treat people, or the proper way to communicate. The reason for this is almost always because they either have deep rooted insecurity issues, or they just have low intelligence. Or both.
Something that helps me quite a bit when I have occasional run ins with these kinds of people is doing what I call therapy running. Therapy running is also quite helpful with navigating through hard times when life becomes overwhelming and stressful. So what exactly is "therapy running"? For me, it is a very specific form of running that is designed to release negative energy. It consists of starting early in the morning on a weekend, so I don't have to worry about being done in time for work. I pick a distance I want to run, and a place to do it. I don't try to run a certain pace. In fact, I pay very little attention to what pace I run during therapy runs. I run at whatever pace I'm the most comfortable. Unlike other runs, I don't pay much attention to the surrounding scenery. Instead, my mind is more focused on psychologically processing whatever it is that's causing issues in my life. There is a lot of analyzing, reflecting, and asking "why is this person or thing such a pain in the ass in my life"?. And then there's the choice of music, which is just as important as the running itself. When I was growing up and getting through all the slush that people go through during their adolescent years, my two outlets for aggression were outdoor activities and music. During the winter it was snow sports like snowboarding and skiing, and summers were for bike riding, tennis, and several other things. My taste in music has always been very eclectic, and I used to love making mixes on cassette tapes that I could take with me on these adventures to use as soundtracks. When CD burners and shock proof CD players emerged, it was even better. Some of the most peaceful and fulfilling times I had in my teen years were Thursday nights after school. Thursday night was ski club night during the winter. I'd snowboard with my buddies at Mount Holly and listen to homemade CDs and cassette tapes during the forty-five minute bus ride from school to the ski area, and back. During the summers I'd be with my family on our small sailboat and I'd walk to the front of the boat, put on my headphones for a little while, and just lay in the sun. Since running is my primary sport these days, it serves as a perfect outlet for aggression and stress, and by adding music to the equation, I'm essentially using the same method for releasing negative energy as I did when I was growing up. I don't listen to music during races, but I almost always do when I run alone. During therapy runs I generally like to listen to a "sandwich" of music genres. I like to start with something fun and energetic to get into a groove and reflect on what is troubling me. This is the first phase. I'll then switch to something darker, heavier, and more angry, which is when the releasing of the negative energy happens. My pace usually quickens during this phase. Finally, during the last few miles after my aggression is released, I'll slow back down and return to the fun and energetic music. The middle phase of the run that includes angry music and hard running is the most important part. Despite this phase being the key element to the run, I have a personal policy to never end a therapy run on a negative note. It's a similar mindset to how couples should never go to bed angry. I will make the middle phase last as long as it takes to get my anger and aggression out before moving on to the final phase during the last few miles, which as mentioned above, is a return to more fun music with a more optimistic mindset.
I've never gone on a therapy run and felt worse afterwards than I did beforehand. In fact, they've worked wonders for me during times when I've had to deal with douche bags or cope with stress and hardships. When I finish a therapy run I feel calmer and happier than I did when I started. Those runs allow me to analyze what is troubling me, process it, reflect on it, and release the negative energy. This helps to declutter my mind, be more at peace, and keep me from channeling my frustration in a bad way that could affect people around me. My theory is that it is okay to get angry and stressed out sometimes. In fact, it's healthy. There's nothing wrong with it, but I think it's important to channel that anger and stress in a way that it's not being taken out on other people in your life, especially your loved ones. There's all kinds of healthy ways to channel stress and anger and I'm glad I found mine. Getting angry and stressed out sometimes is part of life, and in my opinion, channeling those feelings the proper way is one of the things that plays a key role in people's general happiness levels. I also realize that there are a lot of people out there who have the displeasure of having a lot of jerks in their lives. When the assholes get to you, just know that it's not you, it's them dealing with their own shit, and they clearly don't know how to channel their frustration with life. Keep on keeping on.
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