I'm just not a roller coaster guy
- Kyle Snyder: Live on Purpose
- July 24, 2023
- 367
“I have to tell you every day is a roller coaster.” —Rush Limbaugh
Have you ever had a roller-coaster kind of day? Well, that has been my day today. I was very hopeful when I ate breakfast with Stacey this morning. I went over with her what I was planning on writing about, and she gave me a lot of good ideas.
However, today didn’t go how I would have liked for it to go. Something came up at the last minute that we had to take care of. Then we went to an appointment. On top of all of that, I fell — luckily, I landed on my butt in slow motion, but it still hurt. I told Stacey I wanted to go to bed and wake up in the morning.
Life is just like a roller coaster at times. We are up, and we are down, but it always ends up the same way — you are dizzy at the end of the ride. The first and only roller coaster I was on, we stood up while we went around. I was so sick I laid on a bench all evening until we headed home. That is how my day is going. No, I am not sick, but it feels like I’ve had too much.
I did tell Stacey when we got home that I was hitting the reset button. We must be able to hit the reset button now and then, because if we don’t, the roller coaster will never power down. Maybe in our relationships the other person doesn’t want to hit the reset button with us, but we can’t control other people. We can only control ourselves. We may not be able to totally power down the roller coaster, but we can take time to recover from the ride.
One of the things I like to do when I am on the roller coaster of life is take a big breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. I always feel good after doing this. I can feel my lungs expand, and it gives me a moment to gather my thoughts. Sometimes I do it a few times in a row. It gives me a little timeout; it is me telling my body to give me a minute. I heard we as Americans breathe shallow, so trying to take a few deep breaths helps move the air in our body.
It helps me to be alone and just let my mind wander. I can be watching television or on a walk. Sometimes we just need to get our minds off of what is bugging us. Then I can come back and look at things from a whole new point of view. Maybe I can see the answers more clearly. I like to watch something funny, educational or my favorite show and totally get my mind off whatever is bothering me. Listening to music helps too — whatever distracts our mind from the roller coaster.
There is nothing wrong with coming back tomorrow. A good night of rest doesn’t only do the body good, but also the mind. I try to get at least seven hours of good sleep a night. We need to give our bodies rest to be able to function at a good capacity. I can’t make good decisions when I am tired and worn out. In the morning, hopefully we can see things in a whole new light.