I was writing a rant/vent post about how frustrated I was with how little I seemed to be progressing in terms of change. I hated how I was dwelling on my problems and there seemed to be no end in sight.

Then I deleted it.

I was writing it as I vented about it to a friend but I had a revelation as we talked. And suddenly, I wasn’t venting anymore. I was working things out in a positive way to overcome my problems and she acted as my soundboard. After that mental click, what I had been writing as a tumblr post suddenly didn’t seem so useful anymore.

So here’s a new post – one that highlights what I have learned and the tools I am utilizing to make peace with myself.

We as individuals are responsible for our happiness. No one else… although we have the penchant for blaming the world and others as excuses not to pursue our own forms of happiness.

I am sick of dwelling on the past, on negativity, and on apathy. I don’t want to make excuses anymore.

I used to bottle up emotions. I learned to talk and reach out for help. I learned to vent. But now venting is leading me to dwell. There is a step missing in reaching my goals and I’ve stalled in my progress.

I used to think that activities like running, reading, and exercise were a way to run away from these problems. And I’ve been looking to become at peace with inner issues through the discovery of external solutions or just time. But this is the link: running isn’t distracting me from my problems – it’s a way to stop dwelling on them so I can overcome them. It’s replacing negativity with positivity. It’s saying ‘can’ over ‘can’t’. 

I’ve found my answer.