To everyone in our generation who is stressed...this is for you.
I remember a few days ago, I woke up stressed out. There's something wrong with that. I started to then think about how many times my friends or I say that we're stressed out. It will destroy our lives unless we destroy it first. So I ask myself this: Why is our generation so stressed out all of the time?
1. We care too much.
From what I've seen in my 19 years of living is that we care too much about the things we can't change. We also care so much about the people we surround ourselves with, that we end up forgetting to care about ourselves. We care so much because we are taught to care, we are taught that we can change the world-- not realizing that is a full time job. Caring is a great thing, it's the foundation of being a good person, but we need to realize that we can only do so much. We also spend a lot of time believing that we can fix the people around us until they are happy, but in reality that's not our job.
2. School
I'm currently a college student and it's rough. I spend most days staring at text books and questioning my life choices. School isn't just about going to class-- It's about balance. We are forced to balance class, social life, organizations, family, jobs, and still maintain a high GPA to feel accomplished and ready for the real world. But one issue is that I feel like student's are told two different things while in college. The first is to find a major that will make you happy. The second is to find a major where you will have the chance to make a lot of money. So what do you do when you can't have both?
3. Everything Else
If school and caring too much aren't enough there are a million and one other things that will stress us out on the daily. From jobs to greek life to politics to our GPA our lives will never be as easy as college students seem to have it in the movies. I look at my schedule everyday and sigh. And don't even get me started on thinking about the future, it's the most stressful thing that we can do to ourselves. Our generation bit off more than we can chew. We keep saying that everything is fine, but lets face facts: it's not.
So how do we fix this stressful environment that we are waking up to every day?
It's not something that we can do overnight. This process is going to take some time.
1.Inhale and exhale.
Whether you have a large test, a project, or a fight with a friend the quickest fix will always be breathing in and out slowly three times. Just that will produce a calmer environment for your mind and body. It's ok to take time to breathe and know that everything has a time and place and will be fine.
2. Know your limits
Know that everyone has limits, and figure out what yours are. Don't push yourself over the edge, just do what you can. Get enough sleep, eat right, take breaks when you need them, and know that you aren't a super hero--you can't do everything. Plan your days and schedule time to hang out with your friends, workout, or take a walk. Take the time to only care about the things that fully matter to you, and what you know you can change.
3. Make yourself happy
Nothing is more important than making yourself happy. This is the most important rule to lowering stress. If you wake up in a bad mood then it will continue into the rest of your day, but if you wake up and tell yourself it's going to be a good day then it most likely will. Everyday will have it's challenges but if you start to change the aspects of your life that make you unhappy (and probably stressed) then you will smile more, and stress less.
