We have been trained and conditioned to believe that we’re supposed to strive to have it all – happy family, high-paying career, fit body, clean orderly home, great social life, regular hot sex – all at the same time. But what happens when the plan for perfection doesn’t quite work out as we imagined it?
Job loss, the end of a relationship, illness, closing a business, losing a loved one… real-life occurrences like these can lead to feelings of frustration, failure, depression, and anxiety that affect every area of our lives.
These negative feelings and emotions may lead to issues like insomnia, emotional overeating, physical ailments, or an inability to concentrate and complete tasks.
When we go through these unpleasant seasons, we feel like we’re the only ones. We don’t know that others around us are also living life and going through a storm that may be affecting their health, finances, family, or relationships.
What can we do to make it better?
Tip #1: Stop Comparing
Social media has its benefits. It’s wonderful for finding old classmates and staying up-to-date with relatives and friends. But profile updates of someone’s new baby when you’ve just had a miscarriage, or reading a post about a friend’s job promotion when you’ve just been laid off can be challenging for even the strongest person.
Stop judging and self-comparing. We each have separate journeys with lessons to learn and gifts to share. You don’t ever really know what’s going on in another person’s life. Take a break from social media and use that time to do something more productive and constructive for yourself.
Tip #2: Change Your Routine
Repeating the same routine day after day lulls the brain into auto-drive, restricts your creative flow, and inhibits possibilities for new opportunities.
Change. Anything. Research indicates that you can stimulate your brain simply by revising your daily routine or spending time in a place unfamiliar to you. Change can be free, easy, and just the boost you need to affect every aspect of your life.
Brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand, drive a unique route home, go to a different grocery store than you normally shop in, speak to a stranger while waiting in line, sleep naked if you always wear pajamas. Lots of small changes can add up to powerful, positive shifts in your mood.
Tip #3: Take Your Time
Most of us have been conditioned since childhood to aspire to the perfect life. Whether we were told by parents, learned it in our community, or observed it on television and in magazines, our society has trained us to strive to be the best… at everything.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting it all and going for it. But life isn’t a race. Each success has its time to be savored and enjoyed. All of your wins don’t have to come at once. Focus on what’s most important to you today for a fruitful harvest in the future.
