I have lost so much sleep because of boys that have broken my heart, assignments that I have gotten bad grades on, and insecurities that creep up right before I am falling asleep. Whether it be countless hours of tears streaming down my face or the continuous racing of my mind, too many nights have been spent stressing about little things that, in reality, don’t matter. I would estimate that I have gotten my heart broken at least 20 times since the beginning of my high school career, have gotten a C or below on several of my assignments, and have stressed way too much about what my hair looks like. But how many of those thoughts still weigh down on my mind today? Realistically, less than 1 percent of them. So, this means that the little things really don’t matter.
We are a society that is always moving, often occupied, and constantly thinking. We never take a second to just breathe and let our minds rest. A lot of the thoughts that occupy our minds are things that don’t really matter and things that are only bringing us down. Something that I have been teaching myself lately is to stop and question what will matter to me in three years. The things that are racing through my mind and driving me insane, do they deserve to be there tomorrow? If I answer no, then I make an effort to no longer give that thought or idea my time, energy and attention.
Why are we constantly giving attention to the things that don’t need it? Like I said before, we are a world that feels the need to be constantly moving, even if it means that we have to occupy our brain with negativity to fill the empty space. We think that the smallest problems are our worst nightmares, and we let these “nightmares” consume our thoughts. More often than not, we complicate things that are really simple. Does that boy or girl who broke your heart four months ago deserve to have your tears or time? Honestly, they will probably be merely a memory in the years to come, so why should they occupy your thoughts now?
I have found that when I think less about that small, negative things like a bad hair day or waking up ten minutes late, I have more time for the small positive things. Challenge yourself to push out the things that are bringing you down and replace them with something that will bring you up. It could simply be that the barista at Starbucks was warm and welcoming, regardless of the fact that your coffee was bit cold. Changing the way that you think about these little things will thoroughly impact your overall attitude in life. While the exact thoughts that you have now may not matter in the next few years, the attitude that you have can impact your life forever.
Wake up in the morning with a goal to be as positive as you can be. Granted, it is impossible to be happy and upbeat all the time, everyone has bad days. But, it is possible to control your thoughts. It is possible to focus on the things that make you smile as opposed to the things that make you angry, anxious, or sad. So, open your eyes tomorrow thankful that you get to see the sunrise, instead of wondering why you scheduled an 8 a.m. I promise, it will make all the difference.
