MENTAL HEALTH

A Super Simple Maths Question to Help Beat a Bad Day

The part of you that isn’t feeling good isn’t the whole story, or the whole you.

Alexander M. Combstrong
Happy Brain Club
Published in
4 min readMay 4, 2021

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Kamran Aydinov / Freepik

I was halfway through a producing a six-week film shoot, and I felt like I was falling apart. It was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done. I was hiding in the bathroom with wet eyes, working out how to get the strength to get back out there and get things done.

And then I realised. I was, mathematically speaking, completely fine in almost every way. I quickly felt much better — good enough to get out of the bathroom and back on set. You can still find the DVDs of that terrible film in the bargain bins in Walmart. I didn’t nail the movie, but I did nail a way to beat hard times when I was struggling.

Parts of You

Look at all these parts of you and who you are:

  • Your imagination
  • Your hopes and dreams
  • Your creative side
  • Your internal monologue
  • The parts of you that keep you breathing, your heart beating and fingernails growing
  • The parts of you that organise your life
  • Your habits that get you dressed

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Alexander M. Combstrong
Happy Brain Club

Research-backed ways to change your life for the better. Out now: The Confident Introvert’s Handbook. Actor/screenwriter. Forge, Better Humans, Mind Cafe.