Four easy steps to combat bullshit!

While navigating through our lives, the level of bullshit we have to experience is and can very well become exhausting. Whether you’re in your teens, twenties, thirties or beyond, we all have some level of bullshit to put up with. Perhaps you’ve subconsciously built an immune system to it and thus you’ve become numb. That said, it’s incredible to me how humanities imperfections are now exposed online. Wouldn’t it have been great if when you are first born, you received a manual that clearly defined the level of bullshit you would undoubtedly encounter? To that, yes… some folk’s bullshit smells less than others, but let’s call a spade a spade… bullshit is bullshit. So how does one absorb the bullshit thrown their way and spin it to something positive; or at least not let it define us? Below are four easy steps to combat bullshit:

Step 1. Have confidence in yourself. This is a very important and understated point when dealing with bullshit. Your ability to find strength from within your character and your own belief system will allow you to block and better understand bullshit than most. What’s one key component to finding confidence within self? Become more emotionally dependent. When you don’t depend on others to meet your emotional needs, you build an awareness that aids in navigating the sea of bullshit, therefore, becoming emotionally independent is key.

Step 2. Figure out your own bullshit. When was the last time you took a close look at yourself in the mirror and questioned self? Yes, it’s time if you haven’t. It’s time to pause and look into your own eyes and ask yourself, “am I living my life to its fullest potential?” Accomplishing greatness comes in part from having the ability to reflect on one’s own life, and to admit that the world is pretty crazy! That we are all just trying to do the best we can to coexist. Whatever your existence may be, we all have to deal with bullshit. We do it when we’re young, and it continues as we age. Understanding your own will help you carve out an honest place in your heart and strengthen your ability to dodge and even manage all the bullshit you will encounter. I like to call it, “bob-and-weave.” So building a reputation as a ‘no bullshit’ type of person takes time. Therefore, I suggest you quickly realize that the world we live in (with all the good in it) has the ability to throw dubious amounts of bullshit your way. So unless you drop your insecurities, fears, or judgments of yourself at the wayside, you will not be able to bob-and-weave with your own bullshit, let alone what the world throws your way.

Step 3. Learn what being emotionally mature means; then practice it. If you’re one of many people going through life reacting to information… without calmly and tactfully rationalizing with it… then your ability to process and deal with the bullshit train is harder. So instead of letting time pass and thinking that through osmosis you’ll get better at it, I say that you simply (at what ever stage of life you’re in) need to figure it out. Learn how to not react to negativity (i.e. bullshit) by becoming calmer, wiser and expand your understanding of other people’s viewpoints and problems. Doing so will help you gain the patience and wisdom that it takes to build empathy for all of the bullshit that undoubtedly will come your way.

Step 4. Don’t bullshit yourself to happiness. At some level, you simply need to focus more on intrinsic motivation. Look inside and learn to develop a self-desire to seek out new opportunities and capitalize on new challenges by learning to reflect on your everyday reality. Don’t sell out! Stay true to who you know you really are, not some identity you had to create to receive a paycheck.

Even if it’s just for 1 minute per day. Close your fucking eyes, take a deep breath and exhale. Close your thoughts for 60 seconds, trust me, learning to be more mindful about your existence will ultimately help your health, you will live longer. Increasing your own capacity for knowledge will help you become more independent; and hence wiser, more grounded, and more independent across the board. Yes, knowledge is power ~ but compassion for stupidity is piece of mind. Learning this will help you absorb the bullshit better… and at some level, you will begin to process it in ways that will no longer affect you and your personal viewpoints on life.

So wherever you sit on the aforementioned 1–4 steps… I hope my words give you a good kick in the ass and get you to rise above the bullshit. BTW, none of this works unless you learn to calmly assess other peoples bullshit and the truth that we (humanity) is not only destructive but lovingly beautiful. I am an optimist and believe that humanity will evolve. That our destructive nature will indeed wash away from our DNA. Time you see will always be against us so stop bullshitting and get to living your life.