Stress, anxiety and fear, three emotions that have much more real estate in our lives than necessary. The Bain to our existence and keepers of the key to our happiness. So, what do these three things have in common? They all only exist if you allow them to, sounds simple right? Let’s dive deep into how we can take back control of our happiness and live a healthier and more prosperous life.
It’s magic!
Let me start by saying that these words are not an overnight cure, I don’t intend on leading you down a rabbit hole to this magical spell that is going to change your life at the snap of a finger leaving you floating on air without a care in the world. No, this is a real-life message from a human being who has been run down and mowed over by the daily stresses of life. How do I cope you ask? Well follow me and I’ll show you how to climb this mountain of my inner saboteur.
First thing to always keep in mind is, you honestly cannot please everyone, nor are you meant to and that does not make you a bad person. There will be times when you will put your heart and soul into trying to please, appease or satisfy someone else and it will never be enough all you can do is be your true, authentic self, spreading as much joy and happiness as you choose.
Secondly, don’t concern yourself with what others think of you when your presence on this earth is just as important as every living thing in this universe; the trees, the grass, the birds, the cats, the boy, the girl, and anyone who steps into this world and identifies by whatever their soul feels inside, without any judgement, scrutiny or hate. I at times have allowed myself to get so angry that my stomach would churn so bad it would burn, literally. I’ve replayed the situation over in my head a thousand times until I thought about it, while I’m over here in this fiery ball of frustration, that person more
than likely could care less about my feelings and what I may be going through, probably didn’t even think twice about it all the while I’m over here metaphorically breaking dishes up in here, like Rihanna. It just didn’t make sense and the more I stopped concerning my thoughts with others’ opinions about me the less I had to be insecure about.
Third, learn to embrace the things you can’t change in general but more importantly with yourself. Now I’m not saying don’t change as a person and be out here in these streets at the age of 60 acting like you’re 24 or thinking you know everything and don’t need a teacher because mentally we should all mature in life if we’re blessed enough to see old age. I’m saying you are uniquely you and everything about you is beautiful. It is so easy to find things about ourselves that we hate, but we rarely take the time to find all the little things about ourselves that we love.
Be kind to yourself.
Once upon a time I used to have lustrous locks that flowed in the wind and then at age 23 my hairline decided to retire, it was devastating (cue violins). I had to make a decision, was I going to live a life hiding behind various hats, continue to go to the barber feeling like he’s playing paint by numbers or was I going to accept who I am and just be thankful that I even have a head. A famous drag queen by the name of Bob the Drag Queen once said, if you could just find one thing about yourself and could be as simple as a tooth and you say to yourself, “you know, I love this tooth,” and you keep adding another thing and another thing and another thing, until eventually you realize you love yourself just as you are and nobody can take that away from you.
Just breathe.
When your stress levels are high, feeling down or anxiety has you shaking uncontrollably like me, search for natural ways to combat that, like positive affirmations you can recite, take part in a hobby, like gardening to drown out the noise or you can simply breathe.
Find a space to close your eyes and slowly take deep breaths in and out focusing on the sound of you breathing, try to focus on positive things and just take in new energy and release the negativity.
Lastly, remember you matter the most in your relationship with the world and if no one is there to give you the love and security you deserve, give it to yourself and be your own everything in life. Find the happiness within yourself and never let it go and when that doubt comes back to break you, remember, you are worthy and you matter.
Mike the universal artist 