Count Backwards

My brother, Rob, was having lunch with a woman named Debbie whose boyfriend had left her after 15 years of being together. Debbie was devastated. That’s what she told Rob. 

"I'm devastated," she said.

And then she said, “Want some good advice?”

Maybe he nodded or said yes, or maybe she plunged right in. 

She said, “Stop talking about it. Just stop talking about what happened to you or how sad you feel or how you cannot believe you had to move out...This is what I do,” she told him. “I count backwards by seven. Let’s say you start at 357, you can pick any number, really. but let’s say you start there. So, you start... 357, 350, 343, 336...and just keep counting. Stop talking about it. That doesn’t help at all. Count backwards.”