horizontal thinking

i bookmarked an instagram post by writer Elizabeth Gilbert in which she decries the dangers of “horizontal thinking.”

“The most dangerous place in the world for me was lying alone in bed — not sleeping, not reading, but THINKING. And the most dangerous part of my day was that time period between when I woke up and when I stood up. And the longer I extended that time period — the longer I stayed in bed, captivated by what I came to call ‘horizontal thinking’ — the worse off I would be. The disease of my depression wanted me to stay horizontal for as long as possible, where it had me hostage.”

comedian Gary Gulman, who shares mental health and comedy writing tips via his twitter, once said:

or take Gilbert’s advice:

“I created a script to say to my mind: ‘If you are awake enough to tell me that I am history’s biggest piece of shit, then you are awake enough to start the day.’ That empowered me to stand up. And sometimes, standing up is the biggest victory of all.”