8 Tricks to make you a Little Less Crazy

Have you given up on sanity? No worries, sanity is overrated anyway. However, there are some ways to make you seem a little more sane. My first public work of writing was a self-help handbook. I had broken through a very dark time in my life by facing a lot of fears and unraveling a series of psychological knots in my personality. I wrote down all of the tools I had used in a small book that I sold at Maria's Hallmark shop in Middleboro, Mass. The booklet, though simple in design, caught on locally and was even presented in a high school class that addressed students who were dealing with depression.

I never considered writing any more self-help because most of my issues had been resolved. However, a friend of mine posted on Facebook that she really needed advice. She had fallen out of a relationship and was very frustrated in several areas. I always feel compelled to help my friends but I also know that most people don't listen to advice, even if they ask for it. Having said that, I started listing some tricks that I had used over the years to set my life back into order when things seemed darkest. Maybe if I put these out on the internet then people who are looking for answers will have one more place to find them.

Here are 8 Tricks to make you a little less crazy.

1. Don't Outsmart Yourself. Intelligent people do this all the time. They take a simple issue, over think it and grind it into existential drama. This is a waste of effort and energy.  It's not your job to figure out the whole world, only your part in it. Think of the Gordian knot. If a problem is huge, overwhelming and confounding, maybe you just need to take an Ax to it.

Hutch: Personally I have struggled with the modern onslaught of political propaganda. I feel the need to correct people who repeat mistaken information. Then I have to remind myself that I don't know everything and everyone has a right to their own beliefs.

2. Pick your Battles Carefully. If your Facebook feed is a long list of things you are passionately for and/or against - you might be fighting battles on every front with no resolution in sight. If you intend to rip your psyche to shreds, this is a good way of doing it. No matter how dedicated you are to justice, you cannot fight every battle! Your personal power on this planet is very limited. Use it wisely in focused efforts on a specific problem and you will make the world a better place. Using it too broadly on too many issues and you will make no discernible difference.

Superheroes on bicycles by Mike Joos

3. Do Something Mindless. Physical activity is an important key for having a happy life. It burns off energy (both emotional and physical). It gives you time away from your problems. It fills your lungs with fresh air and your brain with endorphins. Exercise gives you a primal venue for bonding with other people in a way that doesn't require intense conversation. Running, rowing, skating, surfing, pick your passion! The benefits are innumerable.

Hutch: Personally I prefer cycling. In all of its amazing forms this activity can provide a whole new lifestyle for those who choose it. If you are interested in learning more check out my cycling blog: Bog Dogs Secret Stash.

4. Make Yourself Uncomfortable. Day to day life can stagnate us. We have to do the laundry and the dishes, cook our meals, pay our bills...etc. Our routines make the mundane easier to handle but those same routines might keep us from getting out of the house to try new things. Broadening your horizons is an awkward process. It forces us to expand our comfort zone by feeling uncomfortable. You need to break out because you will never find rewarding experiences hiding under your pillow cushions.

5. Listen to Others (For Real!). Listening doesn't mean you are sitting there developing your own counter-argument and waiting for the moment when you spring it on them. It means you take their advice, jot it down if you have to, and try some of it. Be experimental. Other people might have learned something before you did. That's nothing to be ashamed of. By listening to their experience you don't have to fall into the crocodile pit. They could tell you where it is at and how wide it is so you can jump right over.

Hutch: Personally I'm a stubborn individual who usually reinvents the wheel no matter what arena I enter. Having said that, I'm learning to geek out on more information from others before making my decisions.

6. Find Someone to Love. Don't look for someone to love you. Find someone who deserves to be loved and love them more than you love yourself. Nothing on this earth will make you happier or more fulfilled. To clarify - you are not supposed to sacrifice yourself for a relationship. That is not what it means to love. If you are trying to give more than you have, that will bankrupt you. That's not love, that is martyrdom. Also, if you are giving with the expectation of return, that is also not love, it is bartering.

7. Reserve Judgement. Notice that I didn't say don't judge. Judging other people and ideas is a necessary part of making smart decisions. What I recommend is that you reserve judgement. Don't compartmentalize or dichotomize humans or ideas. This is the shades of grey reality we all live in but don't like to acknowledge because it's easier to get stuck on a label than to hold your tongue. Anyone you meet will have both good and bad traits. Any idea will have good and bad merits.

Hutch: Personally I have never met a label I didn't hate. Some of the people I admire most are individuals who didn't give a very good first impression. It was only later that I learned about the meaningful moments and selfless acts that made them so valuable to society.

8. Change your Personal Narrative. We all have definitions for how we deal with the world. Repeated failures are merely signals that we need to edit them a little, change a few perspectives that are not working for us. Failure doesn't mean you are a bad person, it means you mis-read a small part of reality. Now you have a chance to use your delete key. You are the lead character in your story so take another path, create a new identity. Send your character on a journey that is even bolder than the original.

Granted it takes more than a blog article to change your life but it can be a good place to start. I read a couple hundred self-help books and held onto a few tid-bits of useful knowledge that got me along a better path. More important than anything, don't be too hard on yourself. You can't control how you were brought into this world. You didn't get to pick your family or your level of wealth but as an adult you get to make daily decisions that affect your path forward.

Since forward is the only direction we have left, make the best of it. Sincerely, Hutch.