WAS ON THE PHONE with a friend who was telling me problems at work. Apparently it was a case of "me against City Hall," and she was starting to get bogged down by the pressure of working to meet deadlines, doing the right thing while workmates say things behind her back. To find comfort, she's turned to food, sabotaging a weight loss program she's worked hard to maintain. Here's what I said to her via e-mail, I'm sharing it with you as you might pick up some relevant advice...

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The reality of life is that we cannot choose what happens to us, we can not choose how other people will see us or treat us, or expect life to be fair. What we can choose is how we will accept things as they happen, and more importantly, how we will deal with what happens to us in a way na hindi tayo masyadong agrabyado. Don't let this get to you...if you do, you are making your detractors succeed. You are doing everything you can, in the best way you can. Tama na 'yon. Wag mo nang problemahin how they will see you afterwards...remember, "Those who mind, don't matter; and those who matter, don't mind." It is impossible to please everybody, so you need to choose sino ang ipi-please mo.

I expect, the only positive result of what you're doing is that you'd address the current emergency, you'd be taking it out of the picture so you can concentrate on the other aspects of your job. I think, based on what you told me about them, your workmates will not see anything positive about what you're about to do, lahat negative. But don't think about that. Remember, it's their attitude. It's their choice to see things the way they see it. Kung tutuusin, puede naman nilang tignan ito positively, but they would likely choose to see it negatively. Wala ka nang magagawa doon. Gano'n na sila, nakatandaan na nila yon. You cannot change them. But you can change yourself. Pero please, don't change yourself for the worse...You may be CHANGED by what happens to you, but refuse to be REDUCED by it. Don't overeat or lose sleep. Ikaw ang kawawa. CUT YOUR LOSSES. Remember, that's one lesson they teach us in MBA! :)
So what would you do with all the negative energy you need to expel? How about exercise (Go swimming/dancing/walking)? Or aromatherapy? (I have candles.) Pamper yourself. Get a massage (sasamahan pa kita) or a hair cut. Or write (like I do). You don't need to publish it naman...kahit private lang. Kailangan mo lang ng outlet or something to distract you from thinking about it so much.

Keep this in mind: Pangit silang lahat, sobra kang maganda para sa kanila. Huwag mong hayaang pumangit ka dahil lang sa mga walang kuwentang tao! Aba, baka ipabura ka na rin ng nanay mo dahil nakakasira ka ng lahi! Hehehehe.

Cheer up! Not to scare you, but mas marami ka pang dadaanang mas matindi pa diyan as you go through life. Be thankful na lang na hindi mo sila kadugo, na puede mo silang itakwil/hindi pansinin anytime. As I told you, the things that happen to us happen to teach us a lesson, or to make us better/stronger persons. The good news is, kapag nalampasan mo ito, it will not happen again, or if it does, you won't be bothered dahil you already know how to handle it. You will no longer see it as a crisis. Piece of cake na lang.

In school, they teach us the lessons, then they give us the tests to see how well we learned the lesson. Life, on the other hand, gives us tests that teach us valuable lessons. Welcome to the school of life, be a good student. :) Push on-- kayang-kaya mo 'yan. :D