Therapy with Yoshi--Session I

No one reaches any level of greatness by themselves. My friend and cousin, Yoshi, gets me through many struggles and has a worldly wisdom that exceeds her years. She's one of those people who can extricate themselves from any situation and give you a third-party perspective. We’re both doing the full-time work/full-time school/perfectionism gig, so we “get” each other. Just the other day, we had this conversation over email:

"Can I vent for a sec?"
-Dorrie

"Of course!"
-Yoshi

"I’m so on-edge today. I finished one report, but still have 2/3 of the biggie report left to audit. My shoulders are a hunched-up mess, I’m getting a headache, and I’m bummed about having class tonight. Because of my promotion, some of my co-workers are closely scrutinizing everything I do. Plus, I’m tired of people telling me they're busy when I'm literally running out of daylight hours! I know it's self-induced, but help!"
-Dorrie

"Some people don’t even know what “busy” means. "Busy" is a relative term and everyone thinks they're busy. How about some advil and tequila? Just kidding. Well, sort of."
-Yoshi

"Sometimes I feel lonely in this place. I know I have to maintain the pace and while it’s exhausting, I know I have to JUST DO IT. Should I just invest in life-long therapy? I could probably get a discount…"
-Dorrie

"Nope, you should just continually remind yourself that people have a hard time seeing anything other than what they’re used to and most people are basically insecure. But don’t let other peoples’ issues become your issues."
-Yoshi

"I know, I know. But when I get overwhelmed (or just objectively busy), this is the chink in my armor."
-Dorrie

"You’re the only one who can un-chink the chink. Just remember that anyone who makes you feel bad about being successful just feels left behind in the dust. And it’s not your fault. You can only control how you feel, not how everyone else feels. And you can’t make anyone else feel bad, they have to choose that on their own. The reverse is true—no one else can make you feel bad, you have to choose that on your own."
-Yoshi

“Very nice little pep talk there. It’s the same for happiness really. You can’t make people be happy and things can’t make you happy, either. It’s just something you decide for yourself and live it. I’m taking that approach on things so I can keep my perceptions clear. Blech. [long pause] Thanks for the therapy session, Yosh!"
-Dorrie