What allows some people to roll around through life without anxiety or worry, but others rock back and forth in fixation of the possibilities? Don’t sweat the small stuff they say. Who says this? Where are they? Are they even human?!
Okay, all jokes aside…
Do these miracle people truly never sweat the small stuff? How can they be human if they don’t? Or am I truly the odd man out, rocking away like an idiot?
I do sweat the small stuff, much more than I’d like to admit. I think this common quote is a good reminder for us all, to try and put things in perspective and analyze why we are getting ourselves in such a tizzy over the small things. I suppose another level of this is sometimes anxiety builds up in certain “special” people, and this dominating angst can lead to a chaotic downward spiral of idiotic and unrealistic worries. Are we aware? (YES). Are we working on it? (YES). Does that mean we’re stuck in this habitual rocking chair? (NOPE). Am I saying I can I control it now? (*sighs*…no). This is my ongoing project (ME). I worry sometimes and I’m working on it. That’s progress people!
I mean heck, I get myself all internally anxious over the most boring, humdrum things. I always buy a new container of *fill in the blank with any item* when the current item is at the halfway point. I can’t RUN out of something I use every day and not have a backup container ready and waiting. That’s insanity! Another example is laundry. I always wash my small and controllable load of laundry as soon as I get home from work and the gym, and prep everything I can for the next day, then, only then, can I relax for the evening.
This is why I LOVE the weekend! Well, Friday night and Saturday night at least. I have ALL day to do ALL the things I would normally have to prep the night before. I breathe easier and sleep better, I can roll out of bed knowing I have time to kill. And then there are other people. People who go to sleep, knowing (yet oblivious) that they have no work clothes for the next day, but they sleep. Hard. Maybe even hit snooze a few times. Then they roll out of bed, rub their eyes, hop into the shower only to realize, “Oh shoot. I don’t have any clean work clothes!” Then they hit the accelerate button and try to get everything done, usually arriving a little late and maybe, even with a damp work shirt on. Some folks walk around through life without much stress, until its pushing them in the face and they can’t see anything but the hand coming at them. But even if that repeatedly happens, they walk around without worry, until the moment the hand reappears and there is no clean clothes to wear.
What makes someone like me lay in bed awake, thinking about my checklist of things, making sure I completed all of my to-dos, and others just wake up each day, unaware of their lack of “clean clothes” and empty jars of various items? In the end, those things really don’t matter all that much. All the things don’t need to be prepped the night before. No one will die if I run out of dish soap or peanut butter. But if I plan ahead, won’t it make it easier on myself the next day? I’m learning to take deep breaths, pause, pet a cat, and look for positive, new scenery to inspire my soul. It’s time to jump off this rocking chair and move. Shall we?
Header quote credits: Erma Bombeck