Because it’s true what they say, don’t sweat the small stuff!
This week, I need to take heed to my own advice. Managing stress isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary if we want to stay healthy mentally, emotionally and physically. But for some of us, even little things can add up to big stress. So how to do we avoid letting things bother us?
Well, it’s not so much avoiding our problems, as it is facing them with a more positive attitude. In life, everything is based on our perceptions of the situation. So if we “sweat the small stuff” we’re creating a problem that isn’t a necessary burden.
We’ve all heard we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Letting ourselves get stressed out over the little things in life is one of the quickest ways to bring ourselves unnecessary grief. The good news is, stress is manageable. And by managing negative feelings, we can enjoy life more and avoid unnecessary health consequences.
Focus on the Big Picture
Have you ever had a small event that sends you into a tailspin? Like spilling your coffee on your way to work or dropping all your papers on the way to a meeting? We’ve all been there! It might seem embarrassing, but when something small happens that makes you want to rage, compare the moment’s significance to everything else going on in life. Is anyone really going to judge you for a coffee stain? Probably not! Will your meeting still go on, even if your papers are out of order? Most definitely! (And you will probably still rock it!) The best we can do in these moments is take a deep breath, refocus our thoughts and tell ourselves to keep moving forward. It’s not the worst that can happen!
Remember That We All Make Mistakes
We all have moments of weakness when something small threatens to destroy our attitude and positive outlook. But these are the moments that we need to remember that everyone makes mistakes. Whether the mistake is on your shoulders or someone else’s, remember that we are all human and mistakes happen. Don’t let a bad moment that feels like a train wreck wreak havoc on your attitude. Instead, address the mistake and move on.
Forgive Others
One of the hardest things we can do is offer forgiveness to someone who has brought you extra work or stress. If someone forgets to complete their parts of a project at work, you might want to lash out at them. But take a minute to stop and think about their perspective in the situation. Chances are you may have been there before. Instead of acting like you’ve never made a similar mistake, choose empathy and forgive them.
Forgive Yourself
Even harder than forgiving others is forgiving ourselves. We are our own worst critics and in moments of weakness, it’s difficult to treat ourselves as we would treat a friend or loved one.
Just as you should practice empathy when someone else makes a mistake, it’s important to give yourself the same opportunity. Try to replace negative thoughts with more positive solutions. Is there something you can do to rectify your mistake? If not, tell yourself you’ll do better next time and try to move on.
Ask Yourself If It Will Matter in Ten Years
Most of the time our problems seem a lot bigger in the moment than they are in the grand scheme of life. Going back to the idea of perspective, look at the situation through the lens of the future. Will this problem matter next week, next month or next year?
When something negative happens in your life, ask yourself if it will matter in ten years. If it won’t, let it go. Little things like someone giving you the finger in traffic might seem significant right now, but you probably won’t remember it happened next week.
In a moment of chaos, you have two choices: let it bother you or let it go. By choosing not to sweat the small stuff, your shift in perspective will truly make you happier in life.
Do you let the small things bother you? How do you deal with life’s little stresses? I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below!
I enjoyed reading this entry. Sage advice – and advice that I will try to heed and implement in my daily life.
Thanks for reading! I’m glad you’re going to try to implement some of these tips 🙂
I really needed this! I’ve bookmarked this for when I feel overwhelmed!
I’m so glad it helped you! Thanks for reading 🙂
Wow! This was such a good read. I’m sure we can all think of someone who needs this!
So true! Thanks, Kimberly! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading 🙂
I really liked the advice you gave about forgiving yourself. That helped me a lot because I tend to be really hard on myself.
Thanks, Pat! Me too. Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂
I love the idea of asking if it will matter in 10 years. So important to try to keep that perspective. Now if I can just remember to do that in the moment when I’m stressing about something that won’t matter in 10 minutes… Thanks for posting this! <3
Thanks, Tara! I’m glad you found some helpful tips! Thanks for reading 🙂
Lovely post! I always need reminders like these to stop sweating the small stuff and that things will be okay.
Thank you so much for reading! I’m glad you found it helpful 🙂
Great advice that we all need at some point! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for reading 🙂
Wonderful writing style. I can totally relate to the whole post. I am such a stress case and forgiving myself is such a foreign concept to me. I am learning. Thanks for valuable information. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much! I truly appreciate it 🙂 Keep giving yourself grace and remember what’s important!
Really glad I came across your blog amazing advice!
Thank you so much! That means a lot 🙂
I find your post very useful. Have a nice weekend 😊
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you had a great weekend 🙂
Loved reading this! Very relatable to everyday life 😀
Thank you so much for reading! I’m glad you could relate 🙂
Yesss! So many valuable advices you give in this post. And I absolutely agree – we should change our attitude toward problems and stress because if we think deeper most of our daily stress comes from things that won’t matter even after a week. 💗
I’m so glad you found this helpful! Thank you so much for reading!
Hello Reinaldo! Great weekend, I enjoyed reading, it was a great read and for sure people need to read this, great help. Kisses from Brazil.
– Stephany Story Blogger 🌻
Thank you so much for reading! Hope you had a great weekend 🙂
I definitely think “ask yourself if it will matter in 10 years” is a big one. I find myself analyzing that often in a lot of situations. Sometimes in the immediate moments we get so worked up just to later look back and realize it wasn’t THAT big of a deal.
Exactly! I find that it’s very easy to get trapped in the moment, but when you take a step back, you realize it’s really not that important! Thanks for reading!