Hey, McFlabbergasty, I found this thread last year but then forgot that it was you when you posted the Star Wars Sequel story in the Script Rewriting thread. So...yeah.

I believe that everyone is precisely where they need to be. This is not because of some religious woo woo, it is simply that a person fears only that which they don't understand, and that which they don't understand they cannot control. This is a much more powerful force than people expect. Thus people find themselves constantly mired in fearful situations that seem beyond their control. If you feel like you are in a bad place in your life, know that it is simply because this situation is the one that you most need to learn from right now. You resist it intensely, but this is because you secretly fear it. How do you escape? You must find a way to understand it, by reading, by finding someone who has sailed those waters, by simple experience, whatever.

The upshot of all of this is that every situation you find yourself in that you dislike is one that you can learn from. Whenever you are faced with an unpleasant something or other, whether it be the prospect of planning for the future, getting out of bed, getting a job, managing your finances, heating healthy, etc, know that it is only your level of understanding that keeps you from playing these games well. For that is what they are; games.

It can seem overwhelming at first, but do one thing at a time, and eventually you will begin to enjoy these games, if you are playing them correctly.

I've rewritten this post three times already, so it is what it is. Anyway, remember to be thankful for the horrible things in life, because these are the only things that will trip you up (and really, there aren't all that many of them, they're just all crowding around you waiting for their chance to teach you something).