Feel Good Friday: Worry Less, Smile More
Morning, friends!
How's it going in your world?Looking ahead to the weekend and I'm already excited. I'm seeing a gal pal for yoga and brunch and enjoying a family BBQ Sunday. A nice start to July/summer!This heat wave is no joke—100s all weekend, phew.
Today's topic may seem a little different coming from me (since I'm usually rainbows and unicorns, haha), but it's something I know we can all relate with in some form or another—anxiety, worry, and fear.
I was talking to a co-worker last week about how anxiousness can come and go in waves depending on what’s going on in my life (the wedding, traveling internationally, taking two weeks off from work, etc...) and he looked at me like I was a little coo-coo.
What I was trying to get across was, whether I have a big assignment/event to cover or I’m in the process of changing my last name, some weeks can be filled with nerves and I always thought that was “normal" until his response.How do some people never worry? How do they live each moment fully? HOW?
When he said, “I don’t get that way. I just let things happen and when there’s an issue ahead, I’ll deal with it head on,” I thought to myself… “So what is a reasonable amount of anxiety to have, to live with… every day? Do I stress too much?” The short answer is probably, well, YES. But, when I wanted to learn for myself, I started doing some research.
READ: How To Stop Freaking Out All The Time
After reading up about anxiety online, I came to find out that there is a normal-ness behind anxiety, and in fact, anxiety is an emotion/subjective state of being.
When feelings and behaviors change, anxiety can rise.What I found really interesting to learn clearly is that anxiety is the anticipation of fear… of what’s to come. In this mental and physical state, we’re preparing our bodies and minds to cope with the problems and dilemmas that we think may happen in the future. In this respect, anxiety is a normal, beneficial emotion, but more often than not, in reality, these worries are never worth the effort we put into thinking about them.
These days, I’ve been worrying over things like:
Where should we settle down?
Should we live here or move back to the east coast?
If we move back, will we regret it?How much should we save up for a home? And, how long will it take?
When's the right time to start a family?
Is anyone ever "ready" to start a family?To me, these seem like pretty normal almost-30 thoughts, but after talking to my friend, I think what the real meaning of these thoughts comes down to...I was born this way, baby. (Thanks, Lady Gaga!)
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Though I find these thoughts healthy to discuss, when do they become too heavy to feel?
I didn’t mean for this post to get so serious (haha!), I guess what I was wondering was… what’s a normal amount of anxiousness for you? What do you worry about? And, is it worth your time?
Do you get tense thinking about your work tasks or a deadline coming up? Or do you tend to let things roll off your shoulder just as quickly as you learn about them (like my friend)?
Lots of questions for you, guys, hah!READ: Quell Anxiety In Two Minutes With This Read
Sometimes I feel like worrying means we’re just human and that we feel things for what they are. If things didn’t mean anything to you, you wouldn’t take the time/energy to think about it’s affect on your life. Right?
While I’m always trying to keep my cool, meditate, and really sit things out, I do (at the end of the day) think that I am the kind of person that’ll always carry a little worry in my back pocket. It sort of runs in my blood. Unhealthy or not, I just don’t know if it’s a habit I can kick.
I've accepted it and have turned to yoga/meditation to keep it balanced. And you know what, it works big time.
Let's be patient with each other as we deal with the heaviness life can bring. Let's understand that we all may be struggling in some way—over big or small issues. I know my problems are teensy tiny in comparison to what so many others are going through, so I keep a healthy outlook on my daily problems as they arise and settle.
What are ways you unwind and rid worries?Whatever you worry about, try to smile every time the going gets tough....Worry less, smile more,Ari