Most of the time, life is good. We wake up in the morning, enjoy a tasty morning beverage and a good breakfast, perhaps listen to good music, read the newspaper, or check our email, and then we begin our day with a smile. Other times, however, things happen that make us unhappy or stress us out in some way. We might wake up one morning to discover that because of a power outage during the night, we overslept and are now late for work or school. Then, because we overslept, we have to hurry to avoid being any later than we already are. Many things can make a good day turn bad, like an argument with a family member or coworker, for example. Arguments often come from simple misunderstandings, which are usually resolved quickly. Other things, such as paperwork, are not over so quickly, however. Questions have to be read carefully, and the paperwork has to be turned in on time.

At one time or another, most people have to do paperwork. There is paperwork to apply for school, apply for a job, and to arrange to delay making payments on a student loan, for example. Paperwork is never fun.

I recently had to do some disability paperwork. I read each question carefully and gave as much information as I could. The paperwork took all afternoon to do. The questions seemed endless, and as I read each one, I felt my frustration building. Despite my frustration, I continued. I thought about what I would do when I finally finished: check to see what new headlines had popped up while I was doing paperwork, run, watch my shows, listen to music, or simply go to bed.

Unfortunately, the day I did the paperwork was a Tuesday during auditions for "The Voice". I wound up missing most of the show, with the exception of the last audition, which I did get to see. I felt a mixture of negative emotions over having missed most of the show that I had spent the day waiting to see: sadness, anger, and resentment. I wanted to cry or throw or hit something to let these emotions out. I did not do any of these things, however.

Instead, I watched "Everybody Loves Raymond" followed by "The King of Queens". I ate dinner, listened to music, breathed deeply, and vowed to myself that I would manage my time better so that paperwork would not spoil another evening.