Tough situations and circumstances will arise. It’s up to us to decide to respond in a healthful way.
I’m sharing my own current life situation, which has much of my life in a state of transition/flux – between the transition of relationship with Brian, to taking care of my mom and her situation and emotions, to logistical day to day life (furnishing my apartment, running the business which is busy right now, and wonderful! and much more. Not to mention the person that hit my car last Friday/Saturday night while I was parallel parked, scraping paint off and leaving quite a mark, with no note ..)
Can we agree that life truly gets wild sometimes? What do we do? How do we respond?
To put things in perspective, I draw back to a message that I received as a 13-year old, stressed out kid: 1. There are people who are dealing with more than you or have it “worse” than you right now, and 2. Your story and journey can help others to navigate theirs someday.
I don’t know where this message came from, per se. I was distraught as a teenager dealing with my life circumstances, and I clearly remember hearing these messages in my bedroom one day while looking out the window and wishing for relief. They’ve stuck with me ever since.
Over the years, as I now look forward to turning 30 this November, I’ve been learning how to enjoy myself in the process: learning to laugh off the small and/or funny stuff (the person who hit and scratched the paint off of my pretty little car), to emote through my situations, but not to dwell in them for a prolonged period of time, to appreciate the process and embrace patience over immediacy, to look for the good things and the ways to grow and learn, and to find ways to put my hands to good, constructive stuff.
How to practically apply these? Practice a self-care philosophy. Be KIND to yourself, but not slack, and work to develop your own self-awareness – know yourself and learn to work with yourself well.
I recommend exercising: moving your body in ways that are enjoyable to you! This might be yoga, dancing, boxing, weight lifting, running, pilates, kayaking, hiking, and much more. I also recommend taking a trip, if even just for an evening. Go to a new place, get your head and senses in a new space to help your state of mind. Take yourself out on a date – table for one, movie for one, whatever! Do something that YOU really enjoy. Plan, AND follow-through on time with friends. Don’t be an island. Don’t isolate. But also, don’t hibernate in the presence of others. Work to find balance so that you have time to process life events as well as enjoy life around you right at this moment.