What to do if You’re Pissed Off With Your Life

Sometimes, you're pissed off with your life.

Occasionally, you're fucking pissed off.

You want life to go one way, but it seems resolute in being something else entirely.

If only life would do what you bloody well told it to do you wouldn’t have to be quite so pissed off with it, right?

So if you’re royally pissed off and ready to show life the business end of a hissy fit, here are 3 things you can do.

1. Stop whining

Whining doesn’t help. If it did, the world would be full of smiley, happy people (who would all still find something to whine about, most likely).

Bitching, moaning and whining is very much like rolling around in shit, in that the only thing it really achieves is making you all shitty.

It’s nice to vent, sure it is, and sometimes getting that out of you can be cathartic. But sooner or later you need to stop trouncing around like a toddler birthday princess throwing a hissy fit and decide who the hell you want to be.

Not only is whining a huge waste of focus, energy and attention, but it also casts you as the victim, as hard-done-by, as someone who deserves better if only the universe would look out for you and give you a chance once in a while.

None of that is helpful, and most of it just keeps you stuck.

So, the next time you find yourself wanting to whine, notice it.

Notice where your attention is going. Notice what you’re about to tell yourself. Notice who you’re going to blame. Notice who the hell you’re turning into.

Then move to step 2.

2. Love the hell you’re in

You can’t meaningfully move on unless you first of all accept where you are.

Not only is that Day 1 of Pilot School, it’s also a prerequisite for having an experience of life that isn’t full of piss and vinegar.

Acceptance.

Acceptance.

Acceptance.

I’ve written the word “acceptance” 3 times, because it can be a difficult concept to accept the first couple of times.

It’s only by accepting that where you are is where you are, that you get to shift your energy behind the fact that your next choices are yours to make, rather than blaming the world for not being where you want to be.

And let’s face it, being pissed off either happens because you’re hurting about how things have turned out or angry because it doesn’t seem fair.

You’re pissed off because you give a damn about your life and what happens in it, and without acceptance your experience is one of struggle, always butting up against life and judging it for not being how you want it to be.

Accepting where you are is the first step in meaningfully moving forward, so no matter how pissed off with life you are, accept it fully, embrace it wholly and welcome it in like you would an old friend.

Then, move onto step 3.

3. Do something

Just fucking do something.

You have agency over your choices and your experience, and doing something is how you get to participate in your life and create motion.

So if you're pissed off with your life, don't just sit there and don't wait for the perfect moment, just do something.

Change up a routine. Try doing something differently for 2 weeks and see what happens. Get a change of scene. Deal with something you've been putting up with or tolerating. Go out and make a new friend. Start a new project you've often thought about. Pick up a pen or a paintbrush or a camera. Join a local group or class or cause. Find a new lover.

Don't simply wallow in being pissed off.

Look at what matters to you, then just fucking do something.