We all have a tendency to believe that things are worse than they seem. For the overachiever: the failing grade on a test is the end of their ivy league future. For the teenage girl in love: the sight of her boyfriend talking to his ex is the end of her relationship and commencement of heartbreak. For the parents with the problem child: that child’s suspension from school is the start of
sleepless nights where they think about their failure as parents. And for the rich stock investor: the crash of the market is his welcome mat to the ledge of a building. Whatever the case may be- no matter how minute- people often have a propensity to think that these mishaps are the end of their worlds as they knew it. Because of this flawed reasoning , rash things are done; bottle after bottles of liquor are consumed, cuts on body parts are made, pills are popped and lives are taken. I’m sure that most can admit that they themselves have or know someone who has “solved” a problem in their life in a rash way. My question to all reading this is WHY?
Why do we try to fix a problem with something that only gives us the illusion of happiness? When the affects of your escape into temporary happiness wear off whatever situation you were having difficulty dealing with is still there! And while whatever problem it is may seem impossible to overcome- it never is. So I have another two inquiries to all reading this: Why do we feel it necessary to overreact about these minor stumbling blocks on the path called life? Why don’t we all just take a minute to think about these situations we’re in and decide just how serious they are? Thinking is the key to overcoming these molehills. Thinking about the pros and cons of the situation and why exactly whatever happened has happened and then drawing up a logical conclusion is what we must all do. Not thinking only causes more problems that we will once again overreact about. Things are rarely as bad as they seem, and if they ever are, SO WHAT? Life will at some point go on. So next time something unfortunate happens to you, take the time to relax and as the old saying goes: “don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.”
This was great Amber. I fully agree with the letting go and the “it’s not the end of the world” sentiment. You really hit it on the nail when you were talking about how serious things can be for some people, that causes a lot of unnecessary and unneeded stress. The only thing that I don’t 100% follow is the whole thinking part. I think that sitting back, putting things into perspective, and realizing that things aren’t as bad as they seem, is a really good thing. I also think that the initial process of thinking could lead to over thinking, and then lead to people making mountains out of molehills. I guess it’s relative though. This reminds me of my “Make it simple!” video.
Thankss a lot Matt! and yeah you’re right, I pretty much contradicted myself with the whole thinking process thing, especially since as you said it can have an even worse outcome.