I got robbed for the fifth time today

Yup. I didn't buy a lock for the gym locker, apparently my wallet "fell out", and today I received two notifications from my credit card that I bought a Subway sandwich for $12.01 and got a MetroCard for $40.00.

Every time I (or my family) get robbed, I (or my mom and dad) put in processes to make sure that it doesn't happen again. This means every robbery is different:

• Home invasion (get additional bolts for house, build fence, get security cameras, get motion sensor tripped floodlights)
• Car break-in (make sure purse and valuables are kept out of sight from car windows)
• Mugging (don't wear anything valuable in public, keep a can of pepper spray or mace and practice using it)
• Identity theft (freeze credit reports, change banks, place long-term credit freeze)
• Petty theft / larceny (buy a darn lock)

Every time I get robbed I hate it just a bit more. The first time I was robbed, I slept like a baby because I knew the robbers would likely avoid re-combing an area they swept clean. Today I screamed in the hallway because I hate being robbed so much.

But you know what? Every time I get robbed, I deal with it a bit better. I went to the bank, cancelled all my cards, came back to the office, screamed it out, and went to our wellness room to meditate a little. Then I worked until 8PM on this one pressing issue. Then I went to the gym and let them know that somebody's been stealing things. Then I went and bought some green tea using an app on my phone. And everything seemed fine.

Of course it's not fine. I'm honest with myself on that. I hate robbers the more times they steal from me and the more money they take (I lost $56 in hard cash, which was all the cash I had, and 20x less than the last time I got robbed, where a third of my net worth disappeared).

But I would say it gives me an opportunity to deal with a stressful situation better than the last time, and on that mark I like to think I'm improving. This is important because healthy ways to deal with stress, just like dealing with heights or other kinds of fears, will be important for me going forward. It's important to have these weeds in your life because it's how you grow more fully in your understanding of the world and your empathy with other people dealing with similar or worse things.

I take comfort in believing that any thief can take my money, or my treasures I possess in this world, but no thief can take away who I am, as long as I don't let them. I like to keep it that way.