Ten Seconds at a Time

By Allison Johnson
Blog Content Contributor

I will be honest, I am the queen of being irritated at the drop of a dime. However, my temper has gotten much better due to my new habit of selecting what to let bother me. I had to realize most of the things I get angry over, will not matter five years from now or heck… even the next day! One of my favorite characters, Kimmy, from the Netflix original, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt once said, “You can stand anything for ten seconds.” I will be explaining how I have personally mastered this technique and why you should to!

The leading character, Kimmy, was often put into awkward or harsh labor required situations while being held captive by her kidnapper. Instead of breaking down, she had quite a strong hold over her emotions. In her flashbacks of being trapped in a bunker with other hostages, she never snapped at the other girls, and kept a positive mindset. She often repeated the phrase “you can stand anything for ten seconds,” when most people would have been livid or broken down. If Kimmy can endure just about anything, I am sure you can stay calm after being cut off in traffic or dealing with a rude person.

You might have told yourself “ten more seconds!” while doing a daily activity like working out. For example, if you were trying to hold that plank for ten seconds longer, you knew it would make a difference and you would increase your endurance. This habit is just like that! You are using the time to reflect and for those ten seconds, you can control your emotions and might even be able to count up more than once! For that first ten, stay cool, calm and collective. Do not think about getting back at someone or giving them a piece of your mind no matter how badly you want to.

I highly recommend this show! Kimmy is a witty character who sees the glass half full, not empty.

Do not let your emotions win. For ten seconds, let things be and tell yourself to get over it. You can have your own mantra, or any type of activity that calms you down after a stressful day or week, but you can also just take in that exact moment to calm yourself down. Now I tell myself, that if I can take in whatever feelings I have for ten seconds without going bonkers, I am probably going to be fine five minutes from now, so getting mad will not be worth it.

I realized ten seconds of just being nonchalant can really change your attitude. For example, there are times when I go to the bus stop at my apartment at 8:30, because I need to be on campus by 9:00am. When I am on time, the bus arrives shortly after and then waits for stragglers. This results in me being late, but this is when I tell myself, you know you are going to get there soon. Missing ten minutes of lecture is better than not going at all, and maybe even the bus driver waiting on five other students to catch the bus made a difference in what kind of morning they would have. This is a good thing to practice because sometimes all it takes is being calm for ten seconds to not let something ruin your day because it surpassed your emotions.

I challenge you to tell yourself you can stand this for ten seconds. Whether you are dealing with an abrasive customer, or a hard workout, you can endure without letting your emotions take over by chilling out for those ten seconds. This can make a difference between you lashing out at a coworker, or just doing something you might regret, so remember, take it ten seconds at a time.

Featured image by Allison Johnson.