by Jennifer Shindman, M.S.
Have you ever said to yourself, “once (fill in the blank) happens, everything will be better/great/perfect?” Once I get through this day, everything will be great. There is so much inherently wrong with this way of thinking. And often, when that “thing” actually happens, everything does not become great. This is because we are putting so much stock into one thing in our lives. When we do this, we blind ourselves to enjoying or recognizing the positive things in our lives. Yes, it is true that this particular thingyou want to happen may be very important, but it is not everything, andwhen you make it so, you lose sight of everything that makes up your life.
Let me give you an example. In the last month, I have spent almost every moment of my free time working on my dissertation. At several points, I thought to myself, when this is over, everything will be great. Then I realized what I was doing; I was neglecting everything in my life that was actually good at that moment. Yes, it is true that this process was extremely stressful, but I was allowing it to color everything in my life that was not stressful. I still got to read a good book on my train commute, and I got to listen to my favorite music in the car. I still enjoyed having meals, and even got to sample new take out on account that I have not cooked in a month. I still have people in my life that I care about and who support me. I still have a home and a place to sleep. This situation is by no means terrible. It is a hassle, not a horror.
There is always going to be the next stressful thing, so if we do not take a step back and appreciate the things in our life that are not stressful, (having a home, a place to sleep, people who love us, and food in our mouths, just to name the obvious few) we will be worse off. Therefore, when you are going through something in your life that is overwhelming, try taking inventory of everything good that you have. Especially when you are very busy and low on sleep, you will have to try even harder to enjoy every available moment.
