Embrace the Chaos

Is there ever a good reason to seek out chaos and drama?

I say yes.

Common wisdom says “Avoid drama and chaos. You don't need any more added stress in your life.”

Oh really?

Any athletic endeavor is complete chaos. Team sports like football and basketball exemplify this to a high degree due to their fast paced and complicated nature. To the untrained eye, it looks like a scramble of chaotic movements.

Yet so many athletes report a universal transcendence of time, of a completely feeling of present-moment peace that defies a simple explanation. Instead of being a stress filled environment, it has a peaceful sanctuary

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

I personally feel that any profession or endeavor which includes chaos, high pressure and drama creates an opportunity for an individual; grow or die.

If people yelling at each other is too much for you, then being a trader on a stock exchange floor won't work. That is your limitation.

Or you can decide that you'll figure out a way to re-define the hectic nature that a trader profession would be and grow to enjoy the chaos. Sounds crazy but people do it all the time. Some people even find it to be their “sanctuary of peace”. No shit.

“But some people are just meant to be/genetically designed to be/were raised to be a stock trader/basketball player/politician” some will say.

There is no denying that certain people will fit in easier in these roles from their upbringing or whatever.

Then there were others who saw what they wanted, decided they will have to do whatever to get there and forced themselves to mold into whatever the situation required of them.

THINKING ABOUT POLITICS

Imagine millions of people hating on you, talking shit about you, openly mocking you and criticizing everything you say. You have the notion of what it's like to be a politician.

Who would want to deal with all that bullshit? Who wants to deal with all that drama? Who has tough enough skin to even handle that?

Not me, that's for sure. But I guarantee anyone who really wants to become that politician; you'll have to learn to deal with it. And odds are good that you'll be better for it.

The key idea here is that if a person wants to be a politician badly, they will accept the craziness involved.

Not a single person sees the craziness and says "Yeah I don't mind that", it's just that people see being a congressman/president as worth going through all the bullshit.  

My personal belief is that this situation can lead someone to become more awesome but it's clear that not everyone does become self-fulfilled or whatever.  There are plenty of politicians who just become more jaded and cranky.

But that goes to how people handle the new stress....

DEALING WITH THE CHAOS

In order to deal in these highly chaotic environments, there has to be a coping mechanism. And those come in healthy and unhealthy forms.

It seems like the most common answer to stress is alcohol. Cracking open a bottle of wine after a hard day at work seems harmless but it cannot be a long-term strategy for dealing with discomfort. So drinking is not a healthy coping mechanism.

A healthy coping mechanism is to stop taking yourself seriously. If massive amounts of people are hating on you (common as a leader in politics, business or even in a social circle) then why not just let go of needing people's approval? It's free and has no downside. It's not as appealing because it's not a quick-fix; it takes a long time to sink in.

Whatever approach a person takes to dealing with the stress from a chaotic environment will always fall under two categories; either unhealthy (short-term thinking like drugs/alcohol/spending money) or healthy (long-term regenerative stuff like deep personality changes/healthy habit changes/mental re-framing).

Both will work for a time, but the healthy approach will lead to a long lasting solution.

LIVE IN THE CHAOS

The aim of this article is not to go searching for chaos and drama. Far from it.

Instead, don't avoid situations because you have pigeon-holed yourself into a perfect little box of “Who you are”. Who you are is bullshit, a mind-made little fantasy that just wants to keep finding more and more reasons to justify not trying new “scary” things.

Maybe you would like to throw yourself directly into discomfort by trying your hand at Improv comedy. Chances are good you will suck but hey....don't you think you might just love it?

To me, chaos and drama are like a purifying elixir that will force me to stop being a little whiny bitch. It forces me to stop trying to hope for a life that is filled with relaxation and everything being perfect. Life is about dealing with all the uncertainty that is thrown at you every single day.

If it can inspire someone to finally go after that job/goal/leadership position they've always wanted, then that is the whole point.