Speaking from true experience, it's pretty easy to get caught up in our own little worlds. And it's easy for the littlest things to take up the biggest parts of our brain, especially if you're a worrier and an over thinker (which, I am both, personally). Our minds have a way of making the small things seem so big, bigger than us, bigger than everything we're dealing with in that moment in time. It's plain and simple: it's easy to get tangled in the small things that shouldn't be even taking up any portion of our brains.
Easier said than done though, right? You can't necessarily control what you worry about and what you don't worry about. Different things are important to different people. Everyone has a unique mind, and inside those unique minds are your unique thoughts. That's why it's hard to tell someone, "Hey, don't even worry about that. It's not worth it." -- It's not that easy.
It can get stressful. Especially being in high school and college, that's where the little things seem the biggest. But, I mean, how do you tell yourself to stop worrying about something that's causing you stress? How do you turn off your brain, but only regarding the one thing that keeps you up and staring at your ceiling, while periodically checking the clock to see how much time has past?
Recently, a few friends of mine were hanging out, and we started talking about life. We started talking about the bigger things in life, and it was one of those conversations that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. And those are the conversations that are the best, too -- when real, raw emotion comes out and you have good conversation with the people you truly care about. I didn't know when we were having that conversation that it would impact me the way it did. I remember thinking about that conversation later and thinking to myself, "That conversation needed to happen. I needed to be in that conversation." -- it set things into perspective. It reminded me that this life is short and this life is good and to take everything in as welcoming as you can. It reminded me that sometimes the little things aren't what I should be so focused on. Will it even matter in five years? Five minutes?
A saying that I have always repeated to myself, and repeated to others, is "everything happens for a reason". I truly, 100% believe this to be true, and I have all my life. When something goes good, I say it. When something bad happens, I remind myself that whatever I'm going through, I am going through for a reason. There's a reason it's happening, and there's a reason I am feeling this way. Because, it's simply the truth, whether you believe it or not -- everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you hate the reason, or you don't understand the reason, but if you just watch how life plays out after something you don't like happened to you, you'll understand. You go through things to learn about yourself and about the world around you.
That conversation was one of those times where it made me think about life and what's important and what I should be focused on. Although it was nothing abnormal from a regular hangout with some friends, it still struck something in me. It reminded me that although life can be hard, confusing, unfair, and can just really tear you down, in the end, there is so much in this life to be thankful for. Even if you're going through something, I encourage everyone to find something good in each day, because there is something good in each day. And it doesn't have to be something huge. The littlest things make my day, like a perfect sunset or a nice text from a friend or time spent with a family member. It's all about taking in everything about your life and making what you can out of it. Life's too short to be worried over someone or something that doesn't deserve to be reserving that spot in your brain. Take life and make it something you want it to be. I feel like that's something we forget sometimes, we forget that it's our lives and we have the power to make it however we want it to be, if we really want it and work for it.
This life is short, this life is good. If I could wish one thing on the world, it would be that everyone feels as much as they possibly can and they use that to learn and make themselves better. Life can suck, it's true, but man, life can be really great if you make it out to be. Like I said, there's so much more out there to be focused on than the little things, and once you realize that, I hope you will find a peace of mind.
