The Misery Contest

Is there a prize? Are we competing?

This week I published a bit of an emotional unloading. It’s a mixture of grief, trauma, and fear as a result of real things happening in my life right now. I wrote it so the feelings would no longer be exploding in my soul.

Who are we kidding though? It’s still burning a hole through my heart at the moment, but an interesting little sidetrack came as a result of the story.

Apparently someone has it much worse than I do.

I understand that when we read something we relate to, we like to unload our own stuff in the comments. I’m fully on board with unloading but not so much when it comes across like “My problems are worse than yours.”

When someone is going through a personal trauma the last thing they want to hear is, “Buck up. Things could be worse.” Of course things could be worse. There’s always death. But without knowing what people are going through we’re not qualified to tell someone to buck up.

Everyone has a threshold and when they reach it, it’s like the end of their world. So throwing a misery contest isn’t the proper way to address them.

That’s all I wanted to say on that topic. Is anyone dying for a hug?

What’s the difference between 3000 and 4000 claps?

I get a kick out of making fun of people who don’t know I’m making fun of them. Apparently a lot of you also like making fun of people, as was evident in the comments of a rant I wrote about ignoring your readers if you want to be successful.

I’m glad I wrote the rant because now I know the monetary difference between 3K and 4K claps. It’s roughly $800.00. The proof is extracted from my own stats so I’m confirming this as true.

So, if you ever see someone with 3000 rounds of applause on an article don’t be jealous. They may have only earned $9.00. But they also may have earned $800.00.

The Medium mystery continues.

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I’d like to close out this newsletter on a more positive note than it started. My life may be a dumpster fire right now but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the beautiful moments when they show up.

If there’s one thing isolation has done for me, it has taken me back to what I consider the most successful years of my life. Those years were the time when I lived so slowly I was almost in reverse, yet I was still doing what I was paid to do.

The Art of Living Slowly and Being Successful While Doing It

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Thanks for being here and I’m sorry I have nothing to teach you this week. I’m hanging by a thread over here so I have no wisdom at the moment.

I sincerely hope you’re all doing well. If you’re struggling, schedule a video chat with Helen Page. She has a knack for making you laugh when you show up crying.

Helen, if you’re reading this, I appreciate you.

Stay safe everyone!!

Kristi