I recently went to a McDonald’s for some late night food, and the lady who took our order was obviously frazzled by something because she was very rude and hurried every customer through the line. A couple of my friends and I were talking with another lady in line who was offended by the worker’s disrespectful service. It seemed that everyone felt like they were being an inconvenience for ordering food by this lady. Being in the food business I understand the stresses of getting the food out on time and pleasing the customers. But if I am so focused on getting everything done and making the customers satisfied, I miss out on the joys of the day because I’m so caught up in the stresses.

One of my favorite movies explores this idea beautifully. (Spoilers). "About Time" is a story about a guy named Tim who can travel back in time, allowing him to fix mistakes and change things. His father, who also had this ability, came up with a “formula for happiness,” living each day twice, “The first time with all the tensions and worries that stop us noticing how sweet the world can be, but the second time noticing.”

I found that when I ask how peoples’ days are going, they are quick to complain instead of rejoice in the good. Myself included. I got lost the other day because of a closed road and ended up on a dirt road that didn’t have any connecting streets for miles. I was frustrated and a little scared. All I could think about was finding my way. But as I began to find my way, I realized how beautiful the scenery had been. I was so focused on the stresses of driving that I missed out on the beauty of the present. I took that same road on my way back to enjoy the tunnel of trees and rolling hills.

In the movie, Tim comes up with his own plan to enjoy life. Instead of living each day twice, he says, “The truth is I now don't travel back at all, not even for the day, I just try to live every day as if I've deliberately come back to this one day, to enjoy it, as if it was the full final day of my extraordinary, ordinary life.” I think all of us, or at least most of us, take each day for granted. We get caught up in the monotony of life, focusing on the inconveniences and the worries that we forget the fact that we are alive is a blessing.

My dad gave me some of the best advice earlier this summer when I was getting stressed about my job. He said, “Don’t take it so seriously.” Sure, I would still do my best work, but I didn’t have to worry about it. When I worry about something, I am taking a present moment and placing it in a future scenario that I do not know the outcome. I assume the worst because my fear is greater than my hope. Instead of stressing about my job, my dad encouraged me to not make work my focus, to see it as more of a means to an end.

77% of the American population regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress. 48% of Americans lie awake at night due to stress. 50% of stressed people experience irritability or anger. 35% feel as though they could cry because of stress. People have a lot of expectations to fulfill with jobs and income and families, and worrying about whether the family is going to eat tonight or if the rent will get paid this month are very real stresses in people’s lives. So saying that people shouldn’t take their jobs so seriously or worry about their families seems a bit careless. Obviously stress is not completely inevitable. But when we let these worries consume us, we rob ourselves of joy.

Whenever I complain about my day to my boyfriend, he always listens and then responds with, “What was something good about your day?” This challenges me to look past my worries and count the blessings in my life. The truth is, we all worry; we all stress about something, which is why we snap at each other, why we are rude, and why we are impatient with each other's errors. In the words of Tim’s father: “Life’s a mixed bag, no matter who you are.” But that doesn’t mean we are all doomed to depressed lives, ridden with worry and stress. As Tim says at the end, “We're all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride.”