Controlling yourself in a bad situation

One of the things that I think that has quickly become my biggest pet peeve is when I see people's inability to adapt to a stressful situation. You truly DO see what people are made up of, and what type of character they have in stressful situations by the way they handle themselves and the situation in front of them. I truly believe that anybody can be a nice person and remain composed when things are nice and easy, but it takes real character to be in a horrible situation and still be a good person. And that is rare... It shouldn't be, but it really is. -That is the true test of good character.

Everybody has an ability to adapt. Change is something that you can always count on and come to expect. So to me, it's almost laughable that most people are surprised when it comes. Expect change and the inevitable, and then it won't sting so much when you are faced with it. It's a lot easier to react to something when you can see it coming, than when you get blindsided, no doubt...I'll grant you that, but if you come to expect that anything can happen, you won't be as caught off guard.

The alternative of that is to resist change and lament the days gone by when you yearned for better times and things were just peachy. You can complain at the "new" state of affairs, and spend a lot of energy trying to fight off the inevitable by writing to your local politician and voicing your opinion. You can combine forces with others who feel the same way as you do and try and beat the system, but sooner or later, you will run into a roadblock and you will be out of shit tickets in the outhouse of life.

As I had said earlier, I hate the reaction you see when people are in their uncomfortable state. Either someone has wronged them, or they feel that they have been given the short end of the stick. People are primarily inclined to seeking out their own way and when they don't get it as they see fit, there is war. Very few people understand that comprimise is a fact of life and that you haven't been wronged if you have to do it.

But as I have said, people are inherently selfish. It seems that the more wealth that has been created in society, these people don't think that the regular rules apply to them. I agree that all men are created equal, but it certainly would be naive to think that all men die equal to each other. And those who have the gold make the rules and write the history books. And it seems like these are the people that I have a beef with...

But I find it hilarious whenever I see a person not able to control their emotions because I used to be one of them. I was a very competitive and intense kid growing up. -You might even have called me a spaz. But the one thing that I have learned over the years is that bad things happen to good people. And the thing is, I have infinitely more respect to those who take it in stride and remain composed, than those who fail to remain composed and look stupid in the process. Even if they win, they lose.

And a wise man told me, you can lose the war, but never lose the lesson...