The Depression Game

That simple statement above puts into words a realization I had to make for myself a few years back. I was always hard on myself for so many things and found plenty of reasons to be depressed. But most of it? Most of it was for things I wasn't even actively working on.

Take a moment and really let that idea marinate. I was actively treating myself poorly for things I was not putting any effort towards. "Gosh, I suck at playing the guitar" But never took the time to practice. "Man, I am so overweight and out of shape." Continued to eat fast food like it was going out of style. Does the make any sense to you? Like, how can we justify being our own mental punching bags for things we aren't actively working on? I know I am not alone in this. How many things are you dear reader right now beating yourself up over when you haven't put an ounce of effort into changing them? This led to the three energies strategy. Now, I recognize that 3 energies is a small selection of the wide world of energy we live in, but bear with me for a moment on this one. It will make sense.

1. Venting

2. Processing

3. Planning

We all need to vent from time to time. It is a human thing we do. Sometimes just letting it flow and having another human listen truly can help. But at level 1 that is truly all this is a garbage dump of the thoughts, feelings and frustrations that live within. A friend who can actively listen and give the occasional passive response can help with level 1.

Level 2 the understanding. Sometimes we really need a responsive wall to bounce things off of. Having a dialogue and expressing things out loud can lead to a deeper ability to process a situation. This is where we have those delightful lightbulb moments and things really click. More powerful than level 1 this is some real working through shit kind of energy.

Level 3, this is where shit gets real. At this moment it is taking charge of the things we vented about, we processed them, and we are ready to do something with it all. This is where we put skin in the game and really make progress. As long as we don't just plan, but we actually do something with the plan. You could plan every day for a year and do nothing with the plan. At that point, what is the point?

The three energies tool is a great tool for self reflection when it comes to internal dialogue, as well as one to use with friends. "Hey man, we have talked about this a few times now. Are we venting, processing, or planning?" We all need a little shove sometimes to get out of our rut and back on the road to progress. You might have noticed this post is being made a few days past Sunday. Well I had to motivate myself to sit and write and many of the things you read here were my own internal dialogue last night. I could not force this one because as they say if you have to force it, it's probably shit. I had to let this one process a bit more and wait until I was in the proper headspace to write this out. I hope this tool helps you, like it has me.

Bishop :(: