How often have we seen, heard or encountered a person who does something that really gets under our skin?

Happens all the time, right?

But then you need to ask, how long does this person stay under our skin?

Sometimes, we can be bothered by them for days… weeks… years, even! They just randomly pop up and it stirs the same emotions in us from the first viewing/hearing/encounter.

It’s even worse when this person is imaginary.

The imaginary straw man you created who is the literal opposite of everything you stand for or who purposefully preys on your hot spots.

They don’t even have a face or a name. They’re just there, in your psyche, riling you up.

At some point, you’re going to have to let go of those people and that involves taking action.

Find out why you get so upset thinking about them and what tangible actions you can take to work against theirs. The call to action will inspire a new mindset in your own life, one that looks at a much bigger picture.

After all, a single person is the end result of a much bigger system. They are just a part of it.

In the case of imaginary people, I find this exercise extremely helpful:

Give them a name.

For instance, every writer has a critical voice that tells them every piece of their writing is no good. I’ve named my critic Geoffrey.

Why? Who’s afraid of a Geoffrey and are you really going to take Geoffrey’s criticism seriously? (see Get Him to the Greek for the inspiration for the name).

You might overhear the following during my writing sessions:

Thanks, Geoffrey. Go away now.
That’s nice, Geoffrey. Now go crawl in a hole and stay there.
Why don’t you do something useful like make me a tea?

It’s fun. It’s cathartic and more importantly, it gets “Geoffrey” out of my head so I can move on with my work.

Whoever is in your head—get them out.

They’re winning the war against you without ever having to be there.