Making The Change.

For those who struggle in their daily lives, whether it’s with routine, a mental disorder, or a familial dysfunction, etc., it’s not uncommon to bemoan the fact that they don’t live a “normal” life. We seem to create this ideal in our mindset that the majority of society must live by a certain standard, perpetuated by the continuous barrage of perfect lifestyles fed to us through entertainment, social media, and the media. But it’s vital to remember that there is no “normal.” Everyone has struggles that vary considerably from person to person and how they deal with them is no less diverse. So many self-help gurus urge people to live their best life. This is no doubt a worthy goal and we tell ourselves that we want to achieve it, but we still lose sight of the key word: live YOUR best life. This is not a quest for perfection; do not measure happiness by a perceived ideal. Such a thing is unobtainable, but happiness isn’t. Yet, when we cry for the loss of this normalcy we are automatically putting ourselves down. We cannot truly become our best selves when our vision of it inherently negates our self-worth and therefore the progress we make. We are human, we will mess up, and this trait that we all share is as close to normal as you can get. While fighting in our pursuit of change and growth, this is the most important thing to keep in mind. Discouragement and self-doubt can be the biggest hurdle in the search for happiness. Our top priority when it comes to change, is to set forth in our goals. To awake each morning and get busy fulfilling those goals so we can check them off our list as accomplished! What we do not want to do, is overthink; doing so opens the door to self-doubt thus moving us in the wrong direction. All too often our overthinking can make us stagnant. Why? Because it overwhelms us. Dwelling in our thoughts holds us back, redirects our motives, and good intentions, and undermines our course. Over evaluating impedes your motivation; sometimes it’s better to just stop thinking and do. Prioritizing and redirecting one’s focus is essential to making progress. But to do so, it may mean reprogramming your coping skills and that starts with adjusting one’s way of thinking. I’ve often noticed that when I begin my day by immediately working, instead of contemplating my schedule first, I have better success in achieving what I’ve set out to do. This is a big advantage for those of us who suffer with depression, stress, anxiety, or fear, because instead of allowing our minds to rule us, we shut them down and get busy. I cannot express how deeply this has changed my life; focusing on my determination as opposed to allowing negativity to captivate my mind makes a world of difference. For instance, in the past I might’ve told myself, “oh not today, maybe tomorrow.” And then tomorrow comes and goes just as easily as it arrived and there I am, once again, digitally programing my mind; keeping my stress at bay by procrastinating. As I am writing this, I can honestly say that my bouts with depression that have dominated much of life, have been evaporating for quite some time now. I believe this is a result of my thinking habits as well as my determination to stop questioning everything and just accomplishing my missions. Our effort now is to change our mindset, and this will indeed take continuous effort on our parts.