The same day, it began to snow for the first time in weeks. Watching the snowflakes flurry down onto the sidewalks and accumulate on the tree branches was a reminder I didn’t realize I needed that it is, in fact, winter in January. The snow stuck tightly to anything it was able to reach, including, to our misfortune, our satellite dish. By the time 6:30 came, our TV screen continued to load as my dad angrily exchanged certain words with tech support and everyone else awkwardly snacked on chips. My dad has a bad habit of easily getting heated up, and he always lets the smallest inconveniences get to him. Maybe missing the first half of the Super Bowl isn’t such a small inconvenience for a middle aged American man, but it put him in such a bad mood that it threw all of us a bit off.Even though I was raised in an environment where both my parents get easily irritated and stressed out, I have tried to limit who that behavior applies to and instead adopt a mindset that is more care and stress free. I have a feeling that growing up I have mimicked my parents’ tendencies to become easily overwhelmed, and I was constantly anxious with different things going on in my life. I realized that there will always be something that isn’t going your way, and there is no use to spend your valuable time and energy obsessing and stressing out over it. Not everything has to be as serious as we make it out to be, and we often force ourselves to suffer in a dramatized version of the situation we created in our minds. Knowing this, I found myself getting less annoyed or angry with people and becoming a more forgiving and patient person. If I drop my bowl of cereal on the ground, all I have to do is clean up the mess and pour another bowl so I can continue to enjoy my breakfast within minutes. Maybe I don’t mind putting off studying for my calculus test if it means I can go to bed at 10:00 and wake up tomorrow feeling more refreshed.
Obviously, there are situations that are serious enough to put effort into. However, this is a sensitive line I think we must learn to recognize to ensure that we don’t over stress ourselves while still not making ignorant choices that could harm ourselves or others. Just caring less about what others think about you, misfortunes you experience, and life in general will relieve so much unneeded anger and leave more room to just enjoy life no matter what happens. In the end, it most likely won’t matter anyway.
Do you think it’s healthy to be carefree or do you believe we should treat our lives as seriously as possible?
I think it is more healthy to be carefree because when you are carefree you don't stress about the little things and as a result you are a happier person.
ReplyDeleteBeing more carefree is definitely healthier. I've actually started to be more carefree this year. As a sophomore, I was always stressed about classes and after school activities or responsibilities. This year I've taken the time to realize that every grade in the grade book doesn't have to be perfect and every responsibility doesn't have to weigh down on me as much as i let it. Everything that we hold at such high regard, such as the the next big test, isn't something that will drastically change your life in the long run. I think to some degree, everyone needs to loosen up a little.
ReplyDeleteBoy, do I agree with you on all of this!!
ReplyDelete(First, the bit about listening to middle-aged relatives ranting about "real music" lol. My family has decided it's healthier for all of us to not watch the halftime show together because half of us are going to love it and the other half are going to gripe about the style).
But also I came to that same conclusion a while ago about being more carefree. And it comes from the same place as you: having a parent who would get super upset over very small things. I loved your cereal example, because that's the same example I would use. My mom would start yelling and griping about something like that, and I was always like "what's the big deal? Accidents happen" and move on to clean it up.
I'm so glad I've been able to not sweat the small stuff, because I would be much more stressed out all the time if I did!
I totally agree with you! I think it's healthy to be carefree in most situations where you have no reason to act so harsh on yourself. I've recently seen myself being mad at little things that happen and feeling stressed about it, so I've been trying to be more carefree. Being carefree has definitely helped me feel less stressed.
ReplyDelete