"Hard Times," the Virtue of Keeping Calm, and a Steemit Rant

Things might be bad sometimes. We don't need to look far to see that. The price of Steem is down. People are starting to worry. Some are getting discouraged, some might be panicking, and some are leaving. In times like these, whether they are affecting our real or digital lives, it is important to make an effort to not be ruled by our unpleasant emotions. Getting exasperated by the things that we cannot control wastes time and energy and leaves us feeling worse for our efforts. Unchecked emotion can cloud our decision making process and lead us to make mistakes in our hasty attempt to alleviate it. Finally, not being the the master of our own minds and bowing to our emotion can cause us to react so poorly to a situation that we end up causing the result that we fear. I know this is easier said than done, but I think that we should all make an effort to stay calm and keep moving forward in the face of adversity.

I generally don't like to write about Steemit because it is not a topic that I feel that I have a sufficient amount expertise on to really wade intricacies that are involved with the finer workings of this site but the state of things here make a great example of how we might react to "hard times." In that sense, this Steemit rant is not a Steemit rant. It a discussion of the ways in which one can handle adversity, using the site as a microcosm.

Anyway, we can see several types of reactions to the less than satisfying price of Steem at the moment. There are some individuals who are angry, or frustrated, or discouraged, or even fearful and those emotions are certainly understandable. I know that I am, at least, a little salty about the payouts that I am watching shrivel on the vine. However, the way in which those emotions affect us and our decisions can be harmful if we are not careful to control them. Anger may cause a person to lash out and start some conflict that only causes damage to his or her account and, when the price comes back up, he or she will be in a worse position to take advantage of it. Frustration can lead one to abandon this place and cripple the growth of his or her account in a time where there is far less competition for attention. Fear and discouragement may make a person cut and run at an inopportune time and by reacting to a fear of losing money, this individual may end up losing much more money in the long term.

Whether we are talking about dealing with the "hard times" here on Steemit or out there in the real world, it is almost always to our advantage to remain calm, rational, and calculating. Reacting to our emotions may be the right decision in some cases but only the calm mind can make that determination. Staying calm allows us to put contemplation before our actions and, in most cases, this kind of forethought is a valuable assist. By staying calm we avoid costly blunders because a calm mind is not blinded by the sudden pull feelings and this allows it to look ahead to the future and plan for it. Doing this is not easy, of course. It takes a little bit of discipline and a lot of practice but we are left with a powerful skill in the end. Once we learn how to remain calm, we can make a a truly conscious effort to continuing advancing our position in the way that is best for us and, to my mind, only good can come of that.

I don't know how things are going to go on this site just like I don't know how things are going to go in life. However, I do believe that giving into our uncomfortable emotions and letting them rule our decisions seems to hurt us all. If we can learn to control our impulse to react to things badly and rashly, we increase our chances of finding prosperity and that, I think, is something that we all hope to achieve both here on Steemit and in real life.

Peace.

All the images in this post are sourced from the free image website unsplash.com.