What would you tell yourself?

I took some time off this week for some prescribed R&R. That, I'm founding out, is a tough nut to crack. I am more used to being on the go; being productive, tackling my To Do lists, and planning ahead ... always planning ahead. I've tried to do a little reading, have watched more episodes of Fixer Upper and Property Brothers than I care to count, and having been watching You Tube videos of some of my favorite songs. The last part has been fun; I listen to the music and then pull up and study the lyrics, breaking them down to their foundation. Gosh, I LOVE when people write great songs!

This afternoon's favorite selection? Dear Younger Me by Mercy Me. The song talks about reflection and the wisdom that can only come with time and experience. The question that comes to my mind though is what would you do with the wisdom you've acquired IF you had a choice? What would you want to share with the younger version of you?

Would you tell the younger you all you think you did wrong to save yourself the pain and the struggle OR would you tell the younger you to embrace the struggles and the challenges because you know they will build your character? Yes, these are the tough questions. Would you go back and try to smooth the way for yourself or would you encourage yourself to fight the big fights and take on the big challenges?

Everyone's answers to these questions will most likely be different; not because our views are necessarily different, but because our pasts and our challenges are personal. They run deep to our core. Sometimes we don't even share them with our friends, let alone our younger selves.

What nuggets of wisdom would you share with the younger you and why?

Don't Let Stress Win

Has anyone besides me noticed how fast life is going these days? We rush in traffic. We scramble to get out the door on time. There are days we look at the clock and frown because it's only 8:30 p.m. and we're too tired to do anything else with our day. When I was a child I thought that days were endless. We would go outside to play in the summer after breakfast, come back in for lunch and head back out on our bicycles to find a friend in the neighborhood. By the time dinner rolled around you were either calling your mom from a friend's house to see if you could stay for dinner or bringing someone home with you.

 

Somewhere along the line we grew up and life got complicated ... with school, homework, jobs, children, parents, and insurmountable amounts of responsibilities. Now trying to find that 60 minutes needed to cut the grass, work in the garden, do the laundry or grocery shopping, or even just take a walk becomes something that needs to be scheduled or added to the To Do list. Not to say that all days and weeks have come to that, but it does seem to happen more frequently.

 

Not having the time (or the energy) to do the things you want for pleasure, for your health, for creativity, to stimulate your mind, for your family, or just for yourself and your sanity can be stressful. Stress is a nasty word; it means we're allowing 'something' to get in the way of how we live our lives and we're letting 'something' control us. Stress isn't always as simple as making a choice to do or not do something. Often stress is a mere by-product of many other things. I've always been a firm believer that choices are the one thing we can control in our lives, but life can still throw you curve balls and those curve balls can often come from other people and their choices. The trickle down effect and how much those curve balls distract you and weigh on you and how you are able to live your life can be the cause of unwanted stress.

 

So what can we do about it when our choices aren't enough? Great question! If I had the answer or if it was that simple I could devote myself to helping A LOT of people. In the mean time, we must learn to take life one day and one moment at a time. We handle what we can, when we can. We find ways to lighten the load, to not try to carry it all ourselves, to be more vocal when we need help, and we listen to our gut. No one knows what YOU need better than YOU. Don't give up trying to find a balance in your life. Don't give up on trying to get your joy back.

 

What has you stressed out these days?

 

In the mean time, hold on to these little nuggets of wisdom ...

 

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.

~ Ovid ~

 

God didn't do it all in one day.

What makes me think I can?

~ Author Unknown ~

 

Stress is the trash can of modern life -
we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly,

it will pile up and overtake your life.

~ Terri Guillemets ~





Challenge Accepted

For those of you who know me well, you know I live by my To Do lists. I like to think that I control the list, but often I think the list controls me. I don't think that the list necessarily defines me, but it does carry a certain amount of power in what my stress level and attitude will be for any given day. Ironically, it is me who writes the list - so wouldn't that mean that 'I' have the power to alter the list? Wouldn't I have the power to lessen how long the list is if it begins to overwhelm me? Wouldn't I have the power to decide if something is actually important enough to be list-worthy?

 

So why do I (or anyone else for that fact) feel the need to write lists?

• Is it because I'm forgetful? Not too often.
• Is it because I want the satisfaction of seeing things crossed off the list in order to feel accomplished? Maybe.
• Is it because I'm OCD? Not really, although I suppose that depends on who you ask.
• Is it because I like things done a certain way or by a certain deadline? Most definitely!

Bottom line ... I suppose I create the issue that sometimes stresses me out. The world is a busy, busy place. We all have LOTS of responsibilities and just not enough hours in the day. Often we write our lists in the morning in order to better schedule our day and our time. In the morning the list may seem very doable and very realistic. I think I'm doing myself a favor to help keep myself on track and away from stress, but then 'life' happens. A child gets sick, your car gets a flat tire, you get stuck in traffic getting from point A to point B. Suddenly your well-defined list gets put on the back burner because you have enough sense to know that sudden life obstacles come first. My priorities are clear, but my willingness to let go of the list sometimes becomes a separate issue.

 

So here is my challenge for me (and for you); let go of the list for 1 whole day. See what happens. I'll bet the world will not self-destruct. Worse case scenario is that tomorrow's list is a bit longer and needs a little tweaking. Perhaps on that 2nd day we need to take just a moment and see what can actually come off of the list.

 

I'll accept the challenge. Will you?