There have been countless moments of frustration. I had to accept things for what they are without expressing my feelings at that very moment. It was hard to see that I had my feelings under control. I realized I should not allow things beyond my control to infatuate my feelings, causing unwanted havoc. It took realizing that it was what I was feeling and not the whole picture of who I was.

It is common when autistic people get news or experience unwanted or unexpected events. It is normal for them to react without the ability to control their emotions. They need to have the skills to properly deal with their emotions. It has taken me a long time to hear things without being reactive. I still want to act on my energy or emotions, but it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt. I must understand that what I am experiencing is valid. Some things are hard. This never gives me an excuse to be hard or hurtful to myself.

In the past, when unexpected things happened, I often reacted without thinking. I wanted to express my emotions but didn’t realize it reflected badly on me. It was not mature, and I wasn’t being the person I was truly capable of being. While there have been countless things prompting reactions that were not always ideal, I realized that was not acceptable. I understood I can only be granted so much grace and latitude. Blaming others or my challenges was not the best practice for fixing the problem.

Life can often seem against you when things aren’t going your way. You can’t see what brings you joy. All you want to do is point out the negativity in life. It is especially hard for autistic people like me. We can only see what is wrong or bothering us at that very moment. I have finally realized something important. The hard stuff I go through is not all of who I am. There are many more great things to experience. These experiences can make my day better than what I see in the moment as the worst thing. This realization helps me understand it’s not the only thing I can think about.

There is so much to see beyond the challenges we face. These challenges can bring our demeanor down, especially when we least expect it. It can be hard to get past thinking about everything happening in our lives. We often consider what we should have done to make things better than they are. We need to think about the things that make us happy. These reflections bring us joy. They help us realize what is bringing us down is not the only thing to worry about. We shouldn’t make it the nuisance in our lives and for those who love and care for us. Life is so much more than what pulls at us to bring us down. We shouldn’t let it do that. Instead, we should work on what helps us overcome the hard stuff.