It’s
been a while since I posted anything.
This year has been insane, a lot of changes, all at once. It’s been wonderful! But also incredibly stressful. I’ve missed writing these posts, they tend to
help me relax, they allow me to get things off my mind and on to paper instead…
The
last few years I had fallen in to a routine.
The same house, the same job, the same schedule, the same everything,
day after day after day after day. As
I’ve documented on here a few times, that sameness and that routine didn’t help
my mental state very much, I needed some change… Well, now that the change has
come, life is moving pretty fast, and changing along with my life, is my state
of mind.
I’m not
saying that everything is great. I’m not
saying that introducing some change to my life has suddenly caused the sun to
start shining, the birds to be singing, and for chimney sweeps to be dancing on
roof tops…
With all this change comes a
different mental state. I can’t quite
explain it yet. It’s not bad, but it’s
not always good either. It’s kind of
like the power flickering during a storm; the lights are on, everything’s fine,
then suddenly for just a couple seconds (or a day or two), everything goes
dark. The lights come back on quickly,
but there’s still that question, “what if they don’t?”
Ultimately, these are my issues,
they don’t concern any of my readers, and they are certainly problems that I
have learned how to handle. I’m not
writing this blog just for me and my neuroses today. I’m writing it for those of you out there who
may need a reminder.
For those of you whose lives have
fallen into a routine that spirals downward with no end in sight, or for those
of you who feel like you have so much going on that you can’t breathe. This post is for you.
Everyone has times when they
struggle. Maybe life feels stagnant and
you just want some change, something to spark in your life. Or maybe you’re at the opposite end of the
spectrum and you feel the demands of the world closing in, overwhelming you,
and you simply need a break.
I’m not an expert, and chances are
that I don’t know how to help you specifically.
Maybe though, all you need is a reminder… A reminder to:
Try something new. I know it can be scary, but breaking out of
your comfort zone can give you the opportunity to experience something you
never would have thought possible. Each
of our lives are full of limitless opportunities, but we sometimes allow
ourselves to believe that how things are now, is the only way they can ever
be. We tell ourselves stories and
convince ourselves that the job/relationship/home/routine that we are currently
in is the only one we could reasonably be in for some reason or another… but
it’s not true. Break the mold, do
something new, something that scares you, even if it’s something small. It may lead to greater things than you
realize.
Take time to do the
things that make you happy. When our
lives get busy and hectic, it’s easy to let the little things, the things that
we don’t view as “essential”, fall in to obscurity. We shove them aside and say “tomorrow, next
week, some other time”. But those little
things, those things we don’t think are important, they’re what make us smile
and provide us with an escape, no matter how temporary. Even though they may seem like a waste of
valuable time, don’t forget that your happiness is just as valuable, if not
more.
Just breathe. Life can overwhelm us in an instant, and
other times it happens slowly, over years.
When it seems like all is lost, when it seems like there is no end in
sight, don’t forget to take time to just breathe. Go outside, go alone, and let go of it all,
even if only for a moment.
Lean on the people
who are there for you. Your friends,
your family, whomever it may be, there are people in your life that care, and
that want to help. Maybe they don’t know
how to say it, maybe they assume you know they’re there, or maybe neither of
you wants to be the one to speak up.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help, you may not always get it, but it won’t
hurt to ask. Sometimes all you need is
someone to listen to you, and I promise that if you ask, there will be someone
there for that.
Take one step at a
time. Nothing will be fixed
overnight. If you try to solve
everything at once and in one fell swoop, you’re only adding to your
stress. I know this may not be what you
want to hear, but chipping away at your problems, little by little, is far more
effective than balling up everything bothering you and trying to get rid of it
all at once.
Never give up. I've felt hundreds of times (and still do
occasionally) that I'd be better off if I scrapped everything and retreated
into a life of quiet solitude. Sometimes
I just want to retreat from one part of life; work, home, friends, finances,
etc. Other times I want to leave it all behind and start somewhere new with a
clean slate. But it won't work... that
retreat is what the monsters under my bed and in my head want. As annoying/painful/frivolous as all the
little things and connections may seem at the moment, they are the only things
that have ever truly pulled anyone out of a downward spiral. So don't run away,
don't retreat inside yourself and think that this will pass on its own. Always strive, no matter how arduous that
journey may seem.
To summarize,
we all need reminders now and again, myself most certainly included. So remember:
Try something new
Who
knows what it could lead to?
Take time to do the things that make you happy
No
matter how small they may seem, they’re important.
Breathe
With
each breath, the world will slow down for you.
Lean on the people that are there for you
There
are people that care, and they may surprise you.
Take one step at a time
When
climbing a mountain, one step at a time is more effective than trying to jump
over the whole thing.
Never give up
Running
from your problems will never solve them, they’ll just follow you in some way.
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