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stress.

It’s funny how certain things cross my mind that I think about for a second but never take time to fully comprehend. Today, I thought about stress, quite a common thing right? Why is stress even a thing? I haven’t researched it or looked up any scientific reason for stress but I feel like the majority of stress comes from the lack of control we have over things that are out of our control. Think about that for a second. You ever heard the phrase we always want what we can’t have? (if not, this is bit awkward) We tend to use that phrase in regards to relationships but what about all aspects of life. I work in a field where a lot of my work and results rely on the ethic and efforts of those who are my partners and if they don’t perform or lead the way I would prefer them to that tends to stress me out, but yet I don’t have control over them and their own desires, actions, or work ethic so why do I take that upon myself? This is the same in every aspect of life. We tend to forget how satisfied we should be with how far we’ve come with what WE do, not anyone else. I feel as if a good majority of people feel validated about where they're at depending on how they compare with others that are around the same age group. Think about it, how often are people genuinely happy for those they associate with if that person is "further ahead" in life than they are? It's not that they're upset with what's happening in that person's life but there's just a stress there, a type of anxiety of feeling like they're behind, when in reality whatever is happening and whatever you're achieving right now is exactly what you deserve and can handle at this moment. Do you ever take a second to remember that there was a day that you literally couldn’t write your name down on a piece of paper? Give yourself credit, validate yourself. When you have a picture that you want to post on social media, ask yourself if you like it rather than wondering if others will like it. Being on the right path starts with your own judgement, not the judgement of others. If we continue seeking compliments or validation from other people we'll end up walking the path society wants us to be on rather than the one we've created ourselves.

cycles.

We never realize this, but we create cycles for ourselves that we're constantly repeating with minor changes. For example, my current cycle is that I wake up each morning, go into the office at work for two hours and then go out to different cities and work until 6:30 PM and then I come home and have my alone time or spend time with others (with minor changes along the way), it's a simple cycle. What happens when we break these cycles? We tend to become overwhelmed with stress. If you miss school for a week you tend to think about the buildup of homework and the lack of knowledge for an upcoming quiz or test and it starts to make you overwhelmed. If you miss a week of work you tend to think about how much money you lost that week, all the bills that are coming up, and how behind you'll be going into the following week. If you break up with someone you tend to start thinking are they happy? What are they doing? Who are they hanging out with? Different situations, different types of stress, all coming from the same concept of cycles being broken. What happens when someone decides to go on a diet? A complete change of pace from what they were currently eating? Or what if someone decides to stop eating processed sugars, meats, etc? Don't we consider that a cleanse? That's a good thing though, right? Why don't we see a small break in our cycles of life as a simple cleanse, an opportunity to use our time in a different way that we wouldn't have been able to otherwise?

process.

Everything I want to achieve will always have a process that I need to trust. When we need to go from A to C we naturally put most of our energy into thinking how great it'll be once we get to point C, but tend to forget how amazing it is to go through point B. The flaw with being a fan of sports or artists or actors is we always see the end result, point "C" rather than the work it takes them to get to that point. A small example, it took Beyonce EIGHT months to prepare a two hour concert. What do we see though? The two hour performance, not the eight month preparation. If you're not at the end result of where you want to be try to understand that you're in the midst of your "eight month" preparation. In a world surrounded by smartphones, Uber, DoorDash, mobile pay, etc.. we thrive on instant gratification and tend to forget that the process is necessary, that the process is what we credit for making us who we are. I have a fear that each day as I focus too much on my end goal that one day I'll look back and forget about how beautiful the journey was.

Remember, the glass has always been half full, we as human beings are the ones who've created the negative perspective for a "half empty" scenario. You're exactly where you need to be. Don't read over that too quickly. I've heard that phrase so much throughout my life but now I'm starting to comprehend what that actually means. My energy, my understanding, my capacity of everything going on in my life is exactly what I can handle at this very moment. Tomorrow, I may be able to handle more, I may be able to handle less, but right at this moment everything that is happening in my life is perfect for me.

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