I heard this phrase in The Office, the TV show. It means not to let your imagination run wild or out of control. I don't know why they don’t just say that, but whatever.
Today, I want to talk about something that I think affects a lot of people, usually at work, but it can happen at home or anywhere else too. It mostly has to do with emotions, because they’re something you can’t control. You can be very smart or not so smart, but emotions are always going to be there.
Some people say emotions are what separate us from animals or machines. A lot of times, when emotions make decisions for us and we’re asked why we did something, the first answer is, “I don’t know.” Then you ask yourself the same question and realize you acted out of anger, love, pain, or a million other emotions.
Some people believe they’re always in control of their emotions, but there’s a big difference between controlling emotions and suppressing them. Like I’ve said before, this can be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. It just depends on your perspective. You already know how deep that rabbit hole goes.
You can’t really control an emotion, but I’ve found ways to at least recognize mine. And the faster you accept them, the easier it is to move forward.
Imagine you’re just a regular person with a regular life. Let’s say there’s something called “normal” (even though there really isn’t). One day, you're walking down the street and you get robbed. Understandably, you’d be traumatized by the experience. You’d remember a lot of the details from that day—whether it was at gunpoint or if someone just grabbed your phone and ran off. You’d remember where you were, what the person was wearing. And it wouldn’t be easy to move past that. No one could blame you, it’s tough.
But the goal is to move forward. It’s not easy. I know the feeling. It has happened to me a couple of times. People handle situations like this in very different ways.
Just to name a few:
Some people stop walking that route or become more alert about their surroundings.
Others double down and learn martial arts or some kind of defensive skill.
Some report the incident, hoping the justice system will recover their property.
There’s no single right choice—it’s all about experience and trying not to let the same thing happen twice.
When something like this happened to me, I had my bike stolen, while I was filling the tires at a bike shop. I ran after the guy, and the chain on my bike snapped. I thought, "Hell yeah. I got my bike back." But when I confronted him, he snatched my phone out of my pocket—it was sticking out about a third of the way—and started running.
I decided to leave my bike on the ground and chase after him. I ran for at least a mile and a half before he got tired, smashed my phone on the ground, and kept running. I was exhausted and devastated. When I walked back, my bike was also gone—so now I was down both a phone and a bike. I’m leaving out a few details, but it really hurt, especially because I had bought that bike and phone with my own money—money I had worked hard for and saved over a long time.
Even now, when I pass through that neighborhood, I remember all the details. During the first few weeks, I didn’t even want to go outside. My dad got me a small pepper spray can just for emergencies. I’ve never had to use it, luckily—but it made me feel safer.
I feel okay now about going through the place where this happened, but I still remember everything.
Everyone has those memories that make you cringe—things you said or did. One of the best tricks I’ve found for dealing with them is learning to laugh at yourself. If it’s something that can’t be changed, change your perspective. Look at the situation through someone else’s eyes. Sometimes, just a chuckle can erase those memories, at least in my experience.
It just goes to show that things only weigh as much as you let them weigh on you.
Let’s say you did a presentation in school, got too nervous, and bailed halfway through. You’d probably feel super embarrassed. Maybe people laughed, made jokes, or maybe some felt bad for you. Either way, your confidence would feel like it hit rock bottom. But that’s exactly what I’m talking about—it's only as serious as you make it out to be.
That could’ve happened when you were 13 years old, and it might still affect you when you’re 30—just because you remember it and worry you’ll mess up another presentation at work. In theory, just letting things go would work for everything. Just don't dwell on thing too long and you'll be fine.
I don't know if this really has to do more with imagination or emotions, but I like to think emotions are imaginary. There's no way to control emotions but you can always go with the flow and see where that takes you.