I realized I did something extraordinarily unfair in this post. I told you all about how to tell if you’re a monster, but failed to give any advice on what you should do if you find out you are one. In general, people don’t like the prospect of being horrible to the core, so we tend to resist accepting whatever ugliness may reside in our hearts.
Of course, the exceptions to this are the types of people who insist on playing as demogorgon half dragons in RPGs. They’re a bit silly, so we won’t really account for them in this discussion. I will say this though—if you feel like your character needs to have an absurd smorgasbord of random powers and bizarre physical features in order to be interesting, your character was never actually interesting in the first place. Humans aren’t boring. YOU’RE boring.
Anyway, if you read the last post and found out that you are, in fact, a monster, know that it’s not the end of the world. The purpose of this post is to walk you through the process of getting over it.
Step 1: Acceptance
Naturally, the first step to overcoming any problem is accepting that it’s there first. You don’t try to excuse it. You don’t try to diminish it. You take it exactly for what it is. Naturally, this requires rigorous honesty, and it will make you feel uncomfortable. That’s fine. It’s better to be honest and temporarily miserable than to ignore the fact that your life is falling to shambles around you.
In a way, this is very much like admitting defeat. You stop fighting the truth and just swallow it, no matter how bitter it is. It’s kind of like eating a salad. It’s going to be unpleasant, but you might as well choke it down quickly rather than let it languish in all its overgrown obscenity on your plate.
Step 2: Get Help
The next step is to get outside help. This can take many forms. If your monstrousness is the result of an addiction (such as to drinking the blood of humans), go to recovery meetings with others struggling with similar issues. If it’s a simple bad habit of eating people’s brains, get an accountability partner and make plans on how they can help you make changes.
Professional help may be necessary. If things don’t seem to be working right no matter how hard you try, your brain may be getting in the way, in which case you’ll need to figure out a way to modify it. There are professionals who can help with this. With their assistance, you can get your brain to work for you rather than against you.
The point of getting help is twofold:
- You can draw on the experience of someone who has seen some of what you do and has possibly gone through similar things.
- They can equip you with tools they have developed through research and experience.
In addition to the help of other people, you will also benefit a great deal from drawing on higher powers as well. Demons don’t go away by means of mundane instruments. You need godly power for that.
Step 3: Repair the Damage
The next step is to begin repairing the damage you did as a monster. This requires you to assess what that damage actually was, so you may need to spend some time inventorying it all. Again, be completely honest with yourself throughout this process. You will feel like crap, but it’s a necessary part of making amends.
Once you know who you’ve hurt and how, make plans to repair the damage. It’s probably best to consult with someone else as you do this so you can make sure you don’t accidentally make things worse instead of better.
This is important because it not only helps repair damaged relationships, but it also forces you to fully accept the things you did. From there, you can let them go and try to do better in the future.
Step 4: Be Kind
You may still feel like you’re a monster, but you’re a recovering monster. Further efforts to turn yourself around include changing the way you treat others. Rather than sucking people dry, give them meaningful gifts. Rather than put people down, build them up. Rather than sling insults, sling stupid jokes and make people laugh instead of cry.
Rather than make this world a more dangerous and scary place for others, make it a little brighter for them. Let your life be a benefit rather than a detriment to the people around you.
You’ll find yourself feeling happier, and while you may still struggle with monstrous tendencies, you’ll find plenty of reasons outside yourself to leave those behind. In a very real way, making amends improves you by keeping you honest and reshaping your life.
Disclaimer
Now, it should be noted that if you are a literal monster with tentacles or fangs, these steps may not apply to you. You will always have tentacles, you will always have fangs, and you will always be a monster, at least on the outside.
However, these steps can help you change what’s on the inside. And in the end, that’s really what matters.
What do you think? Ready to stop being a monster? Think I’m just a monster trying to save face by writing something sort of hopeful? Let me know in the comments! Also, share this with your monstrous friends. All proceeds go toward eradicating the blight of demogorgon half dragons from the land. Really.