Do you ever feel the pressure to do more, achieve more, be more?
More often than not I feel this pressure in my life. I feel the pressure to make new year’s resolution. I feel the pressure to constantly be getting better at things. Most nagging is the pressure to be perfect.
This year, I’m taking the pressure off. I don’t need to do something just because everyone else is doing it. Resolutions can be good, it’s wise to look at what you want to change, and think about what you want to accomplish.
However, I’ve found that an all or nothing/extreme approach to change, doesn’t work out in the long run. Habits take a lot of time and effort to create and undo, and trying to do all the things all at once, doesn’t build new habits, it just crashes our already exhausted brains. It sets us up to fail in a very discouraging way. I’m not rushing into making a long list of changes that I want to make in my life just because it is January.
I don’t know about you, but starting something new in the winter, isn’t the best time for me. In the winter, I lack energy and motivation. The days are shorter and darker. I want to hibernate and in some ways, I need to. I need to take this season to relax and recharge instead of pushing forward just for progress’s sake. It’s my rest time and I don’t see a problem with that. We all need time to slow down.
The point is, I’m taking life at my own pace. I’m not looking around to what other people are doing and comparing. This gets me nowhere. Instead I’m taking life each day, enjoying the moments that I remember to be present, and not worrying about the future so much that it robs me of the now.
All I can do is what I can do.
All I can do is today.
All I have control over is what I choose to do right now.
Yes, I will take steps to create positive change in my life, but it will be one step at a time. It will be one small thing that leads to another thing that leads to another thing. Change doesn’t happen with a giant list, it starts with choosing to add or take away one thing from your life to leave room or make room for something else.
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