What’s that under your bridge? What do you mean “what do I mean?”

That … that thing! Staring back at me with the yellow, bloodshot eyes! What do you mean “it’s nothing.” There is definitely something there. Come over here and take a look for yourself. And bring a broom. Or a stick or something. And a flashlight.

Is … is that a troll???

Oh. So you know about it. Well, how long has it been there, for god’s sake? Cuz it looks like it’s pretty well dug in. It’s got a pretty nice set-up, in fact. Look – there’s a power cord, running to the outlet in your garage. And there’s a hose attached to that spigot on the side of your house. Is that a mini-fridge? OMG! And … there’s a small sofa. Jesus, honey! The thing has cable!!  

What do you mean “leave it alone?” What do you mean, “it’s not that big of a deal?” It’s draining your resources! And it sure as shit doesn’t look very friendly, sweetheart. In fact, it’s giving me the stink eye right now. And it’s growling.

What’s that? You’ll deal with it later? Well, I’m guessing you’re going to have to. It’s obviously not going to leave on its own…

Okay, so joking aside, we’ve all had, or have, a troll or two under our bridge. You know what I’m talking about. Something unpleasant. Something in your life that isn’t doing you any good. Something you know you probably need to deal with, eventually, but you’ve become used to it by now. And maybe it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, not all the time anyway. You’ve adjusted. You’re good at ignoring it. You’re used to the drain it puts on you.

It could be a relationship. You’ve come to the end of it, but haven’t actually ended it. Maybe it’s a friend that takes advantage of your kindness, your time, and your attention, never returning the favor, dumping all their drama on you. A neighbor who leaves his or her dog outside all day, and it barks and barks and barks and barks and barks, driving you insane. A room mate whom you like, basically, but he or she never does the dishes or cleans up after him or herself. A physical symptom you are putting off having checked out

Not a big deal, this troll? This whatever-it-is?

Sez who?

It’s draining your energy and maybe your resources. It’s causing you stress. Maybe not a lot of stress, but whatever the amount, it’s taking away from the positive things in your life and the things you want and need to be doing. And whatever it is, it’s not going to disappear on its own. It’s a troll, no matter how you look at it. It’s bringing fuck-all to the party. You know you’re going to have to chase it out from under your bridge where it’s been squatting all this time.

Here are the “pluses” of putting it off:

1. Doing what you know you have to do is going to be a hassle. Unpleasant. Putting it off means you don’t have to deal with the hassle and unpleasantnessOkay. That covers the pluses. The downside?
2. Putting it off won’t change the unpleasantness or hassle. They remain the same whether you deal with the troll now or do it later.
3. Waiting, in the meantime, means the stress, anxiety and whatever else your particular troll is causing you will continue, and continue to wear you down. The cost to you, in other words, keeps mounting.

The upside, then, is that you will feel better, and your life will be better, having dealt with the troll. Oh, you might even miss the damn thing at first, because you’ve gotten used to it being there. It might feel uncomfortable. Change always does.

You’ll get over it, trust me. Give it time. Life will only be better having done what you need to do.

Do it now. Don’t wait. Kick that troll out from under your bridge.

~ LEP ~