Self-Inflicted Stress
I don’t know about you, but I have found that a lot of the stress that I deal with day to day is self-inflicted. I find ways to get in my own head and worry about things that I have no reason to stress about.
It’s a struggle I’ve dealt with for many years. It tends to start with a benign thought that grows and morphs over a relatively short amount of time. Before I know it, the thoughts are spinning out of control and I’m feeling like an elephant is sitting on my chest. I spend countless hours trying to solve a problem that may or may not need solving.
This cycle is not constant. It isn’t predictable, really. Most of the time thoughts are just that. Thoughts. They come and go. They exist because my brain is made to produce them.
But every now and then, the stress monster takes hold and I’m thrust into a days long struggle with my own mind.
Fortunately mindfulness helps. Trying to ground myself in the present daily does as well. I have been trying to be much better about letting go of intrusive thoughts or the ones I can tell right away might bother me if I hang onto them.
I try to meditate on things that are worthy of being meditated on rather than ruminating on negative thoughts.
But, I must admit, I’m not perfect and I still struggle with self-inflicted stress. I wish I had it all figured out, but alas, I don’t.
Final Thought Humans are imperfect beings. We struggle with wanting to live a certain way, yet finding ourselves doing the opposite. That’s not new to you or me. It’s been going on since the dawn of time. What’s important is trying to get a tiny bit better every day. The smallest improvement is still an improvement. Never forget that.