On my way back to my apartment after my calm walk along the seaside at 6 am today, and crossing a main road, a man coming from the opposite direction saw fit to swear at me for no reason. Besides, is there ever a reason to allow oneself to lose control like that?
I continued walking, and only when I got to the other side and was safe did I look back to get the full picture of this boar. My thought went immediately to a friend of mine who would have taken this man by the scruff of his neck had he been with me.
I was thinking about this encounter and how easily things escalate – I could have reacted to the boar’s unacceptable and unwarranted behavior, but to what end? One does not sink to those levels, even more so in the middle of a busy road. And coincidentally, while walking inland to a coffee shop for a quick coffee, my friend was sitting on one of the stools, and I was almost tempted to tell him about my encounter. But again, to what end? It would simply have kept an unpleasant situation alive, my friend would most certainly have been affected, even if for a short while, and for what? To allow a pig to dictate how our morning would go?
One component of Tier I of The Paco Straws Framework for Emotional Stabilization™ has to do with consequences. Consequences come from our own behavior but also from how we respond to the behavior of others.
We know we cannot control others and their behavior; all we can do is be aware of our own responses and control our own behaviors.
In stressful situations, it’s almost like one bypasses social norms and appropriate behavior, and one temporarily becomes someone else – or reveals someone underneath the person we thought we were or knew. This ‘someone else’, viewed from a higher ground, could feel ashamed and embarrassed for their behavior even if in the moment it felt justified and even appropriate – given the circumstances.
Learning how to get ourselves on more solid ground emotionally and remain there as much as possible thus becomes vital if for no other reason than to prevent the often-extreme fallout from dysregulated responses.
It might be worth it to do a personal check-in with your stress levels, as I have mentioned before. It really is not a threatening or clinical assessment. It just allows one to check in to see where they are. It is accessible here:
https://everydayempoweredwomen.mykajabi.com/signup-for-check-in
And I have had some feedback regarding Tier I of the framework for understanding stress through interpretation and pattern recognition, and I appreciated what I heard. One can be so close to something that one begins not to see it clearly. As you know, it is accessible here, and I would so appreciate feedback (there is a feedback form at the end of the course).
The solution to a heavy situation definitely needs to be lighter, which is why I designed the Paco Straws Stress Interpreter Reset™ the way I did. A light touch is very effective, and because I like to take the pith out of things, the Stress Interpreter Reset™ provides tools that do not add pressure. Instead, they allow you to enter a different realm with curiosity, which, at the same time, leads to effective outcomes.
Why not give it a try? Be one of my Beta Testers, and I will happily throw in the bonus of a foundational book written five months before the development of the Stress Interpreter Reset™.
Let’s continue being aware of those potentially unconsidered consequences by lightly keeping a handle on our own responses and behaviors.
And please don’t forget: If you have a podcast, newsletter, coaching practice, or a community for women focusing on resilience, burnout, confidence, emotional well-being, I would love to contribute a guest article, interview, workshop, or discussion for your audience. Please contact me here:
https://everydayempoweredwomen.mykajabi.com/contact-me-2adb77ed-882d-4e58-9e05-432cb60a2164
Thanks for reading.
XMBP 29.6.2026
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