We live in a world where every little thing bothers us, offends us, or stresses us out. In the timeline of our lives, the big things are what stand out; they’re what we remember best, and the little things kind of fade into the background. I’m not saying the little things don’t matter, because they do. In fact, it’s the little things that sometimes impact us the most; those little things could be a note someone left on your desk or a compliment someone gave you. The little things that cause you to smile in an empty room or blush while your brain is scrambling thinking of a response to a compliment. Those are small things we don’t sweat because they make us feel amazing. When I say, “stop sweating the small stuff,” I’m talking about the small situations, instances, or problems that come up in our lives and affect us in negative ways, when in reality, we shouldn’t let them.
1. Ask yourself: Will this matter a year from now? Should this really matter now?
I can almost guarantee whatever you are stressing about right now, is going to be the last thing on your mind a year from now. We stress about tests and money and whether or not people “like” our latest pic on Instagram. There are bigger things happening all around us. People are living without adequate food and water. Children are growing up in the middle of conflict and war zones. Men and women are giving up their lives for our country and for us just so we can feel safe as we crawl in our beds at night. We are all a part of something bigger than ourselves. So what you failed that test? So what you are currently living paycheck to paycheck? So what you didn’t get one hundred likes on your Instagram post? You can’t let one test define you and you aren’t always going to be a struggling college student and you have to stop worrying about what people think of a single captured moment in time.
2. Take life a day at a time.
Some of the best advice I honestly think I have ever received was from someone who has become a really great friend of mine: “You just have to take it a day at a time.” I had just started my first semester of nursing school, and I was stressed out. I mean really stressed out. I felt like my professors expected so much from me. There were so many assignments and tests and forms to fill out. My weekends were made up of working until three o’clock in the morning and assignments and papers I had to finish. What I learned was that you really do have to take life a day at a time. When we don’t, we over do it, we try to get everything done at once, and we give ourselves unnecessary stress. Don’t stress yourself out anymore than you have to. Take everything one-step at a time, one breath at a time, one day at a time.
3. Overthinking and worrying will not change anything.
Most things we worry about are completely out of our control. I am absolutely guilty of lying in my bed at night overanalyzing conversations, things I said, and basically my life in general. But these things are totally out of our control, so why stress about them? Bad things happen to us, great things happen to us, and such is life. We have to roll with the punches and trust God has a bigger plan for us. “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11.
4. Let it go.
I know the Frozen epidemic happened a few years ago, but sometimes you just have to listen to a Disney ice queen. They know what’s up.
5. Don’t give the small things more time than they deserve.
There is so much more to life than overthinking, worrying, and stressing over small nuances that aren’t going to make a real difference. Bigger things are going to happen in your life. Bigger things are happening all around us. Worry about the bigger things, stress about the bigger things, and let those bigger things keep you up at night because those are the things that matter. Your faith. Your family. Your friends. You. Those are the big things that matter. We spend our whole lives giving time to what doesn’t matter. Give your time; give your life to what matters. This life is short, and things are going to come up, things that challenge you and change you. Focus on what matters, and don’t spend time dwelling on what’s out of your control; what doesn’t matter.
