Do you ever have days where you are certain you’re doing everything wrong even though you have no solid proof? Today was one of those days. In fact, I’ve had about a week of those days, tied together neatly, delivered in various packages but all following the same pattern.

An opportunity to make a decision is presented to me, with ambiguous alternatives in tow. My lack of clearmindedness won’t allow me to appropriately weigh the alternatives and approach the decision with any sense of confidence. One thing is certain, though–whatever decision I make, I can be sure it is wrong and there’s no one to blame but myself.

Generally speaking, I’m a pretty confident person, and I don’t need much validation. So, thankfully, these times are pretty rare. Perhaps that makes navigating through them more difficult because it’s so uncharacteristic of me. But the most recent bout has given me some new insight.

I am somehow finding comfort in accepting the guilty verdict that these unkind thoughts place upon me. Trying to convince myself of my innocence (which I know is the real truth) is futile. Truth doesn’t matter in cases like these.

And so I accept the guilty verdict and lay down my defenses. The sentence will pass and confidence will soon be restored in time. It always is after these storms.

I will take the blows with strength and a firm stance. I will let the irrational verbal attacks be spoken in my mind, and I will let them pass right through me without a fight.

The less time I dedicate to their presence, the less power they have over me.