I hate this. There's a drama going on in my head. Someone annoyed me recently. A lot. So I have these long conversations in my head in which I lay out just why I am so darned worked up. That pretty much releases my anger and then I have long conversations in my head in which I try to deal rationally with the situation. Then I remember why I was annoyed and it's back to the internal rants. I try to let it go and that leads to long arguments with myself about the wisdom and the difficulty of such a move.
I used to deal with this problem by speaking with the other person but some people wisely refuse to engage in the drama in my head. So I'm resigned to waiting it out and hoping the drama in my head goes away of its own accord. I hate this.
Me too. I'm working on a project (directing a play for a community theatre troupe) and I feel like the head of the troupe is overreacting to a failure of mine (cutting the script rather late in the process) as an excuse to get us out of doing the performance for a theatre conference. In fact, it has been perhaps unrealistic all along to expect the show to be ready for the conference, and we all need to face up to it and decide what to do, but he seems to want to play the blame game.
I'm all, "Dude." and he's "DUDE!" and I'm "Dude?"
So, are you going to tell us what the story is, or are you going to leave us hanging?
The story itself is not nearly that interesting, as I expect most of these stories are. I'm trying to close a business deal with someone who isn't getting me information and thinks there's plenty of time to do it "later". It's up there with my daughters' dramas. Someone said this, then I said and she said and can you believe it? It doesn't matter in the big picture and yet we can't let go. I thought I'd grow out of such things and it happens more rarely now but still, it happens and I'm as annoyed that I'm letting someone "rent space in my head" as I am about the original problem.
Justene,
Its a matter of learning how to drop someone (or something) like a bad habit when necessary - and anyone thwarting you is someone to be dropped. Just do it yourself - regardless of what it is; I used to have those long arguments with myself until I learned this trick.
Start cursing and swearing at people. As you get older, they attribute it to your being eccentric.
Mrs. Du Toit:
Or they'll asume your Mrs. Du Toit.
Mr. Cook, I suppose I should be offended by that and snarl at you--and I will, maybe, as soon as I stop laughing.
Gads, Justene, you sound like my whole past year. In my case, it has been beyond annoyance...it was downright hurt and anger. I have decided that will no longer call this person close friend...just mere acquaintance and family. She can spend the rest of her life wondering why, for all I care. I know I tried.
And this after having had several MOVIES play out in my mind. It never works out that way, so it may come to just askign yourself a simple question of what is most important to you, and how are you going to deal with it in the future?
Turn off the computer. Unplug the phone. Fuel the inner conversation with generous quantities of an adult beverage. Nurse the hangover. All will be clear. Re-enable communications devices.