The Caring Counselor

I am slowly becoming a fan of audiobooks. I hate reading, but I do enjoy listening. I guess that fed into my passion of mental health counseling. I am honestly just happy I found a way to enjoy books after grad school practically ruined reading for me.

My newest obsession is The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson. I am only about a third of the way through, and I am loving it. (I promise I didn’t get paid to type that.) What I particularly enjoy is that he mixes humor in with reality, facts, and psychological concepts. Many of these concepts are ones I preach to my clients, so this also serves as a form of validation.

One quote I had to write down from early on in this audiobook:

“Pursuing the positive is negative. Accepting the negative generates the positive.”

YAAAAAASSSS QUEEEEN. I’ve been saying to this to clients, friends, and family for years. If you are constantly chasing your expectations and ignoring the reality of what’s around you, it will tear you down eventually. You will live in constant disappointment and denial. You will find yourself chasing your own tail while spiraling downwards. You won’t get anywhere.

I am not by any means saying that you cannot have goals and things to work towards, but you cannot be ignorant to the negative in life. It is there. It sucks. It isn’t going anywhere. That’s why seeing the negative in life for what it is makes you more resilient and better at problem solving. With each problem you solve, you move closer to your goals in the right direction.

-The Caring Counselor