For When Life Feels Heavy
You know that feeling of lightness and peace after a period of stress? You finish the presentation, you turn in the assignment, or you talk to someone you were on bad terms with- and it feels like a weight has been lifted off your chest?
Everyone has different stressors in their life, ways they feel stress, and how they handle it- but stress in itself is universal. It’s a part of life that every single person experiences. That feeling of lightness where everything feels okay again- I think that’s a universal feeling too, and I think it can be mutually agreed that it’s a really wonderful feeling.
Of all the things that cause stress, a lot of them are out of our control. They don’t have an easy fix or timeline of when they will pass. The only thing we can do is make it feel a little better.
Here are things you can do and control in your life to bring you a sense of calm, peace, and freedom.
Remind Yourself that Life isn’t that Serious
Life is a whole lot of fun, but it’s hard to remember that when everything feels tense. Do something to remind yourself that life doesn’t have to feel so serious.
Do sidewalk chalk, skip down the block, hula hoop, roll down a hill, do a couple of cartwheels, run so fast it feels like your legs might fall off- just let yourself be goofy and have a good time.
Think of activities that make you feel like a kid again and things that grab your attention so much you forget anything else exists for a moment.
Even when your time is absolutely booked out, find 10 minutes for fun, and it will go a long way for your happiness. Check out this blog I wrote for Pure World for more ideas of what to do when it feels like there’s no time for fun.
Get Outside
Sunshine, fresh air, and just seeing the outside world do beautiful things for your mind and body.
Go on a hike, take your work outside, go on a walk, lay in the grass, anything to get you outside for a little while.
Even if it doesn’t feel like an instant fix, stick with it, spend at least 30 or so minutes out there, and I guarantee you will feel refreshed when you step back inside.
Change Something
You know how when you re-arrange your room, it feels like a brand new, exciting space?
Do that. Clean, organize, or re-arrange your living/ work space. As you’re sitting at your desk trying to work, make sure it isn’t cluttered. Move some things around, light a candle, and maybe that little refresh will help you focus a little better.
Clean yourself up too- shower, put on a cute outfit, do your hair, do your makeup- whatever it is that makes you feel fancy and refreshed.
Feeling new and refreshed is a good feeling, and good feelings are what you need to lift up that heaviness.
Do Something Good
Help out a friend, buy a stranger a coffee, remind your friends you love them, give someone a genuine compliment, and just be generous and kind.
Think about the last time someone did one of those things for you and how good it felt. Go make someone else feel like that.
When life feels heavy, you need to remind yourself how good this life is, and kindness is one of the greatest aspects of the world. You control your actions, and by choosing ones that spread kindness, you are adding to the love and happiness of the world and that’s a really beautiful thing.
Take Baby Steps to Get it Done
Sometimes big tasks feel so daunting that you don’t know where to start… so you don’t.
Breaking up a big task into a list of easier steps makes it feel a lot easier, plus you get the satisfaction of crossing more things off your to-do list.
Scheduling your time out in short increments can also make big tasks feel easier. Like this:
- 3:00-3:15: homework
- 3:15-3:20: break
- 3:20-3:30: clean room
- 3:30-3:50: homework
- 3:50-4:00: break
- 4:00-4:15: homework
- … and so on
Having breaks scheduled in and knowing they’re coming soon really helps when you keep getting distracted.
You might’ve thought, “15 minutes of homework is not enough,” and that’s exactly the point. It will feel short and easy, making it way easier to stay focused the whole time and actually get things done. 15 minutes straight is way more useful than sitting down to work for an hour and accidentally spending most of it on your phone.
