My emotions are bubbling over, turning simple tasks into Herculean challenges. But here I am, writing through the frustration because, for me, writing is cathartic.

Ever get so mad at someone that you try to write your feelings out, only to end up crafting an argument that’s… not great? You’re just mad. Upset because you feel trapped in an overwhelming situation, looking for a way out.

Adrenaline kicks in, prepping you for that fight-or-flight response. But this isn’t a survival scenario—it’s an argument with your manager, Steve. And while it’s tempting, you can’t flee, and you definitely can’t kill him. Pretty sure that’s still against some moral or legal code.

Even though… let’s be honest. Fuck Steve, right?

For the record, there is no Steve. My father-in-law is a Stephen, but he’s a saint (he’s babysitting my kids right now and treated us to dinner last night). Steve with a v is just the perfect name to direct your rage at.

The real culprit here is a combination of lack of sleep and excitement at new things. I’ve been loving streaming, writing, and creating, but the last two nights, I stayed up past 2 a.m. which for a dad who needs to be up at 5am for morning prep work, that's a huge deal.

And sleep? Sleep is everything. Just ask the conqueror of death, Bryan Johnson, who once said in response to a comment about valuing sleep and a healthy lifestyle over grinding for success:

"I wish I'd had someone in my life to teach me that you don't need to sacrifice your health to achieve success" https://x.com/bryan_johnson/status/1875281087938883853

He was talking about business success, but it applies to emotions, too. Sleep deprivation is like handing your emotions the wheel and saying, “Go wild.”

So here I am, tired, frustrated, and typing through the noise in my head to find clarity.

And guess what? Writing works.

When I started this post, I was ready to burn the world down. Now, I’m calm enough to admit I overreacted. The person who set me off didn’t mean to—I just took it too personally. Sleep deprivation, emotional dysregulation… it was a perfect storm.

Before I wrote this, I tried writing about three other topics. But nothing felt genuine. I couldn’t write about goals or purpose while feeling this annoyed. My words felt hollow.

Now? I’m ready to go back, apologize, and move on. If this post had a heart rate monitor, you’d see a steady decline from chaos to calm.

Frustration, anger, and that boiling-over feeling are natural responses. They happen to all of us.

But if you take a step back—write your thoughts out, process them—you’ll see the situation for what it is. You’ll realize you’re not as angry as you thought, and that argument you were crafting? It probably wasn’t worth the fight.

Calming down and gaining clarity is the win. Congrats, King!