Unfuck Yourself

4: Piece

e in months, he wasn't dreading the day ahead. He had managed to get through two things that had been weighing him down: the

versation with Dave, about taking things one step at a time. It was simple advice, but somehow it was the hardest thing for him

ps.* That

down the things he needed to work on-one small thing for each day. I

ote down was simple:

-

. There were dishes piled in the sink, clothes thrown across chairs, and stacks of papers on every available surface. It had been e

he moved through each room, tossing out junk, organizing papers, and scrubbing down countertops, he felt a sense of cal

s, but at least livable. He stood in the center of his living room, h

-

lishment that he hadn't felt in a long time. He started to approach his tasks differently, one thin

s boss, n

k, "I see you've been picking up the pace. That re

elief behind a casual sm

ief, felt like validation.

-

. They started spending more time together-taking walks, cooking dinner, talking about things

a movie, Laura turned to Max. "You seem dif

een in my head for a long time. But I'm trying to focus on what I

d. "I can tell. It feels like

ut fixing everything at once. It was about making progress, piece

-

st one small thing to tackle. It was hard not to get ahead of himself, not to let the bigger

e like himself again. He wasn't fixed-far from it-but he was no longer stuck in the sam

-

ghter heart. They sat in the same café, but Max's energy was

ed, sipping his coffee wit

ve been doing what you said-small steps, one

ot surprised. "Told you it would.

he had in months. "I didn't think it could be that sim

caught up in the big picture that you forget to look at the small things yo

t like the clutter in his apartment. His relationship with Laura wasn't perfect

to go," Max admitted. "Bu

's all that matter

wasn't about perfection. It wasn't about having all the answers. It was about showin

Max believed that he could keep g