Hello Happy Souls,
As the end of the semester nears, I can’t help but feel a little pressure and stress. Deadlines are approaching and time is ticking. For some, graduation is only a few weeks away. Although these times are very exciting, they can be very exhausting as well. I’ve noticed myself feeling mentally exhausted, and sometimes physically fatigued as well.
I’m learning that some of this exhaustion comes from my anxiety and thinking way too much. But, I’m also seeing that I feel overwhelmingly “busy”. I cannot seem to balance things, why is it so tough?
Well, there is a difference between being busy and being productive. There are many times when we become stressed out because we are overwhelmed with things. Some things that should not stress us out. Things that are not benefiting us or adding value to our lives. Things that are stressful and annoying to us. This is being busy. Busy is unhealthy.
Being productive means you move with intention. Each of your actions throughout the day are intentional. You are mindful of what you are doing and you are present in the moment. Plan your day but allow yourself to go with the flow. You are able accomplish big and small tasks. This is productive.
Can you think of where this relates in your own life? Ask yourself, are you busy or productive?
I know that I have been way more busy than productive lately. It has killed my creativity, slowed my motivation and spiked my anxiety. Being productive makes your day feel more accomplished and valuable.
I’ve started to attend a yoga class to help lower my stress and combat my anxious feelings. During one of the classes, the instructor said something that really resonated with me. She was talking about how so many people say they do not partake in yoga because they don’t have the time. This made me recall all the times I have said I don’t have time for things like exercise, yoga or meditation. Then, she said that after they started the practice (yoga), they found they were actually wasting a lot of their time watching Netflix or being on social media.
This made me step back from what I was doing with my life to evaluate what things that are heavy and wasting my time versus what things are adding value to my life and bringing me joy. I quickly realized that I do not have time for things that bring me stress. Of course there will always be day-to-day, unavoidable life stressors, but any extra stress must be removed.
For me, personally, stress only negatively impacts my health and mental state. It makes me very overwhelmed; therefore, I must do things that are meaningful and intentional or I become busy.
Once again, there are going to be stresses in life we cannot stop from happening, however, removing the ones we can control only creates more room for positivity. This is my point. You can choose to be busy with tasks that stress you out or you can choose to be productive with tasks that motivate you.
My Challenge for You:
If you are reading this post today, I challenge you to make a list of you daily activities. Anything from Netflix bingeing to reading a book. Then, examine what items on your list may be bringing negative stress in to your life.
- Can you remove something?
- Is there something you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t had the “time”?
- Are you motivated to finish your current to-do list?
- Are you making time for yourself?
These are just a few of the things I have asked myself lately. These questions have made me understand my current situation and where I need some auditing in my routine. I’ve been wanting to start yoga and meditation for over 3 years now, and now I’ve finally started. I dropped the BS and figured out what was needed in my life.
Challenge yourself to start something new, and do it for yourself. Try something that scares you! It’s okay to let go of anything that no longer suits you. Remove negative stress and add more positive stuff. Understand that this is your life and it’s yours to make. Tomorrow is not promised, so why live in the future. I am learning that living in a future mindset creates anxiety and stress. Enjoy the present moments of your life. Start making decisions for yourself and start doing the things you want.
I hope you can realize some of your own stressors after reading this post and begin thinking about where you could make changes. Thank you for reading PYM. Stay on the look out for the December newsletter coming out next week. If you want to subscribe, you can do so on the right of this page.