Let It Go (and I don't mean Frozen)

We're nearly two months into the school year, and I'm sure for many of you, things are piling up. Homework, projects, extracurricular activities, work . . . not to mention that relationships take time, and so do hobbies (for myself, that's writing and blogging). We complain that life is busy, and it is. When is it anything but? I know, I know, some seasons of life are busier than others, or they're a different kind of busy, but the fact remains: there is always something going on.

Some of those things we have control over. Many things we do not. Things like school and work are musts. Relationships are the biggest things in life, and so we don't want to sacrifice time spent building them. And if we neglect recreation for too long, we burn out. So what in the world do you do when life gets crazy and there's just nothing you can cut out?*

*I would first examine if that's really true, because chances are, there is something you can minimize or eliminate or postpone. Really.

Most of the time . . .

We. Get. Stressed.

And we blame the circumstances for our stress. But actually, those things that keep us busy, those deadlines and requirements and must-do activities, are just stressors. How you react to them is completely up to you.

Stress is actually low-level fear. It's not a red-hot explosion of panic, but a constant drone in the back of your mind. It's the constant nagging, the to-do list digging its claws in, the underlying buzz of thoughts saying, "Can I do this? Will I make it? I don't know if I can. There's this, this, this, and this to do today, and all of THIS to do tomorrow. I don't have enough to give. I'm going to disappoint people. I'm going to disappoint myself. I'm failing. I'm buried. I'm overwhelmed. I'M STRESSED."

Something I'm learning is that I need to let go of the things I have no control over. Sure, there's a lot I can change--I can adjust my schedule, I can work on my beliefs about a situation so that I don't stress out as easily--but there's always lots in life that I just have no control over. So there's no point in freaking out about those things.


So what if there's an accident on the way to school and it's slowing down traffic, making me late for class? That's an extenuating circumstance. If I gave myself sufficient time to get to school, and something like that makes me late, that's not my fault. So in the middle of the backed-up traffic, I don't need to panic.


So what if a customer issue comes up at work and I don't have time to finish the cleaning project my manager gave me? A more important issue came up, so the project will have to wait for another time. And that's okay. I don't need to feel guilty about it.


So what if you have to go to school or work or any other number of obligations? Yes, it limits your free time, but you'll just have to accept it and work around it. Don't put needless pressure on yourself to accomplish more than you have time for.


When you brush all of that aside, your mind is suddenly a lot freer to start focusing on what you can do, and what you do have control over. It's a lot less stressful. A lot more freeing.


So relax, friend. Life may be full of stressors right now, but it doesn't mean you need to be stressed. Shift your focus, release what you can't control, and just figure out what the next step is. That's all.

You've got this.