This country is unpredictable, as a matter of fact the world is. The gun violence continues to increase making it challenging to want to attend events, or send our children to school. Police brutality continues to happen, and every time you go on social media you see others living their best life, making it hard not to compare the moment they decided to put on social media, to the reality you are living at that moment.
So many things causes stress and the environment has a lot to do with it.
Stress comes in so many forms but one thing I try to remember is this…stress is here to STAY. When you are over one situation, here is another one ready to throw punches. It’s no wonder people are overwhelmed, tired, and appear to have more unproductive days than they intended.
If this resonates with you I want you to know that you are not ALONE!
The Rundown On Why You Are Stressing
Demands are increasing: you want to do all the things at once, lose the weight, make more money, start a business, travel, and raise children that everyone will admire and adore.
Watching and reading the news more: you do not want to miss out on what’s going on, therefore you dive into reading or listening to what others are saying about whatever is going on in the world. Bad news spread and get a lot of views online, making it visible on our social media feed and depending on the content it can trigger us providing more stress.
No Clarity: some individuals are just existing. You are doing the day to day stuff and that’s it. When you do the same thing over and over again expecting different results…that leads to stress because our expectations are not met.
Feed into the pressure of social media: everyone is selling everything online. If you look for a product, the next thing you know, you will see that product on your feed. You start to see other information regarding that product or other companies selling it. Top things many people see on their social media feed are exercise programs, personal growth (lack of something), and food consumption. If the issue is relatable to you it becomes easy to put yourself down and/or purchase the product thinking it will be an instant life change.
Limited support: this is critical, support goes a long way. Anyone who is successful at anything has a support system or someone they can talk to and help with strategizing.
What You Should Do
All things consider please note change starts with YOU. Not from your parents, children, or even your best friend. They all can encourage you however, if you want to change its vital to reflect in order to produce the change you need to feel better about yourself.
Demands are going to be there: but it is up to you to prioritize what matters most. Each night before you go to bed, make a checklist of what you want to do the next day. Be sure to prioritize them after you write it down. The next day check off the things you complete, and whatever you do not get done, save it for the next day.
Take note of what you are paying attention to: how are you spending your time? Ask yourself: is this encouraging me or depleting me. How do you feel after engaging in this activity? If it is not helping you grow, write down how much time you spend doing this, and write down what you would like to invest your time in instead.
Get clarity: doing the exercise stated previously will help you gain clarity of what you are doing day to day. What short term goals are important to you. Once you write your short term, think of some long term goals. Also write down what do you want to get out of life, include what’s important to you, faith, family, business, etc.
Get on a routine: limit the time you are on social media and other news outlets. Be strict about it. If this is challenging start in increments, cut yourself off for 20 mins and then increase the time to your liking.
Find your interest: once you figure out what you like search groups where you can be a part of. Start with your church or programs in your community, find activities and explore. A great place to start is Eventbrite, look for local affairs in the area on Facebook or ask neighbors what’s about upcoming events on the Neighborhood App.
Routines are important, we know to get up to go to work everyday, or get up and take the children to school. This is important, we speak so heavily on routine with our children and even our spouse, but we have to be on board and do the same thing. Do some self-reflection and start a detox from all the things that are not serving you and making you a better person. When we start living for ourselves, it can help us manage stress.
If you are having challenges working through life stressors seek a therapist, sometimes past experience can hinder us from moving forward. Therapy can help unpack trauma by identifying unresolved issues which will help us move forward in life. If you are hesitant about receiving services, check out our magazine. We provide resources and conversation starters in addition to support from others who have experienced similar challenges. You can start here for digital or visit here for our soft cover copies.
After doing this activity let me know what worked. What did you find out about yourself? I would love to know!