Angry people

I was talking to my good friend Michael this weekend and I commented to him that a lot of my friends seem to be angry.

Not angry at me.

But angry.

Leave it to Michael to come up with incredible insight into human nature.

"Oh a LOT of people have inner anger issues," he said.

Wow, "really?" I replied.

I never realized it before.

I thought it was just me....

But it makes sense.

We come into this world full of joy and life comes at us, sometimes changing our wholesome and pure and optimistic view. It can turn some of us bitter and angry. Many of us in fact.

What causes us to go from happy-go-lucky to bitter and angry?

Maybe over a failed relationship. Or two. Or twenty.

Maybe because we weren't born into a wealthy family so we have to bust our ass every day just to feed ourselves and put a roof over our head. Some people have an odd chip on their shoulder about that.

Maybe because we had a bad experience with a boss or co-worker.

Maybe a business deal went south.

Or someone in business stole from us. Or lied to us. Or otherwise treated us badly.

Maybe we we were laid off or fired from a job through no fault of our own.

Maybe we hate our job.

Maybe it's just part of some people's personalities to be angry.

But as I thought about it, I was just amazed at how true Michael's statement is.

And you know the worst part? A lot of these friends of mine may not even realize they are bitter or angry!

I know I haven't been "myself" the past couple years. And I know what that was. I had a horrible experience with a band I represented. I worked my ass off for them and at the end of it all, they screwed me over. So much for rewarding those that help you out and sacrifice life and limb for you.

Still, it does NO good to hang onto this bitterness and anger. Yet, letting is go is a real process. One that can take weeks. Or months. Or in my case, years. And I'm still not 100% there yet. It's a bit like your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend cheating on you - and for no good reason. You were the perfect spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend yet something bad still happened to you. It's a hard lesson to learn that in life, you can be a GOOD person and do everything right and still get hurt by someone. It makes no sense. I guess that is just life and part of life's lessons.

But, you know, as much as I know some of that bitterness and anger in me may never go away, I know that karma takes care of good people and bad people and "what goes around" truly DOES come around.

Somewhere I read that anyone that is angry is covering up for hurt. And I think, if you look closely at anyone in your life that is bitter or angry, that is often the case.

I wish more people were self-aware. Aware that their negative attitude turns people off.

I know changing yourself can be a difficult, if not impossible task.

At least listen to what you say when you're with your friends -- and if you find yourself complaining about things more often than not, you can at least begin the process to heal.

Why I complain

Complaining is bad.

Complaining attracts other complainers.

I shouldn't complain.

However, is it just me?

It seems that most people I know complain.

Is that bad?

It would probably be better to just focus on the good things.

However, it just seems to be such an easy thing to fall back on.

Like eating a pop tart for breakfast instead of fruit.

It's just easier and a bit more fulfilling.

But I don't think I complain because I am unhappy.

Sometimes that may be the case.

However I think I complain often because I'm a perfectionist.

I know it's silly.

Silly to expect life can be perfect.

But I think, somewhere at the root of my complaining, is this desire (or should I say this unrealistic desire) to make everything in my life perfect.

As in:

today would have been perfect, if it weren't for the traffic on the 405
today would have been perfect, if that crazy artist hadn't emailed me
today would have been perfect. if....

I still am trying to complain less because really, what does complaining get you?

Usually negative people complain and complainers are negative people.

And successful people often don't complain - after all would you want to be around YOU all day? A complaining, unhappy person?

Or someone who is happy, upbeat, and that loves life?

Is there "normal" in LA?

Some days I'm really amazed that I've survived in LA this long.

Why?

Because so many people here are crazy.

Not straight jacket crazy.

More like "just not quite right" crazy.

Sure, people are all unique. Different. Everyone has their quirks.

And perhaps "normal" is boring.

I have "normal" relatives. They are all married, with regular jobs, kids or no kids but just normal, everyday folks.

Not in LA.

Almost everyone I know is weird, quirky, odd, "a bit off" or something like that.

Why is it is so hard to find a nice group of "normal" friends?

I don't mean I need a group of friends that are doctors, lawyers, dentists and accountants. On the contrary, I love that I have a diverse group of friends that work in every field from entertainment to accounting.

However, since I seem to meet the most people through the entertainment business, finding a group of normal friends can be challenging.

What I would give to make friends that aren't white trash, angry, have a horribly negative attitude about life, or what not.

You are the company you keep - isn't that what they say?

So is it me?

Or are there just slim pickings in LA these days?

After all, in a city where you need to plunk down a half a million dollars to buy a house way out in the valley, who can afford to live here? Only the super wealthy or the super insane. I guess I know more of the later than the former....

The economy

It seems that everywhere you turn these days, it's all bad news about the economy. Every company is having massive layoffs and many companies here in LA aren't hiring at all.

Everyone says it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Yikes.

And as things get worse, people cut back on everything from netflix to cell phones to eating out. And the cycle gets worse as those cutbacks cause more businesses to slow down, and more layoffs ensue.

It is a scary time for many indeed.

However, I hope you all have your health and appreciate that at least we live in a country where we have enough food to eat. Many people do not. (Of course, many in the US do not - but we are not in that situation, right?)

I still cannot believe we got to this point.

Obama is not a magician. No matter what, the economy is @#$#'d and likely will be for some time. At least through 2009 and into 2010.

Some have said it might be 3-4 years before the economy stabilizes and recovers.

All I know is frickin' Bush. How anyone voted for that idiot is beyond me.

If you voted for you him you're to blame for the situation we're in.

I hope things get better.

Because right now, I am ok.

But many of my friends are not.

And it's hard to see your friend struggling and worrying about their rent and bills.

Again, though, we all have our health and enough food to eat.

Stay positive.

Things will get better.

It's a great time to be an entrepreneur.

And to learn to love ramen!!!