The last two months has been crazy.
My new job is amazing, but it has also been taking a lot of energy from me. It is hard to learn new computer systems, new routines, navigate the new workplace and get to know all my new wonderful co-workers. Add late nights, early mornings and lack of time to recharge to the mix and we have the perfect recipe for exhaustion.
In times like these, my number one advice is to practice gratitude.
It has become my number one tool to get me out of my mind and to keep me grounded in challenging situations. practicing gratitude is useful whenever we feel stressed, overwhelmed, sad, jealous or frustrated.
One of the reasons why it is so powerful, is because it is close to impossible to remain in a negative state of mind once we start to articulate what we are grateful for.
Besides from a busy work schedule, I have had several social events going such as birthdays, housewarming parties, traveling and family gatherings. All these things I love. Still, I cannot help but sometimes feel reluctant and frustrated. I feel tired and drained, leading up to not feeling happy at all about neither work or any of my upcoming plans. These feelings can in turn make me feel even more stressed out. I become stressed out about stressing out.
Stressing out about things that usually brings us joy can be an early sign of unhealthy stress and pressure. When we feel that we have too much on our plates we start to feel resentment, and that can be ugly. But don’t get me wrong, we all sometimes feel reluctant or frustrated, and we should not surpress our feelings.
Feelings are just feelings, there are really no good or bad ones.
However, it may be useful to learn to recognise whenever these more negative feelings, or thoughts, are starting to take over. Because the truth is, our bodies and minds are easily harmonizing with negative thoughts.
When stressed out, we often lose our ability to see the bigger picture. This leads to a more self-focused mindset which only feeds the stress and frustration even more. If we are making the challenging situations in our lives all about ourselves, we narrow our perspective on all the good things around us. Learning to practice gratitude can then help us broaden our horizons again. Gratitude can occur in us spontaneously, but it can also be cultivated. The more we practice it, the less room there is for negativity, pessimism and fear.
If I feel that my work is taking up too much time and that I have social obligations that are also required more attention than I can handle, I can try to transform the concerns I have into what I feel about these situations in terms of gratitude instead.
So, I ask myself, what is it about my work that I am grateful for? Or what is it about my social life that I am grateful for?
Often, we will realise that the things we are stressed about are also the same things that we are the most grateful for.
I am stressed because I have so much to do at work, but I am also grateful for my job, for finding a place to work where I am able to develop my professional skills and to challenge myself to become a better person. I am grateful to have found a place to work that allows me to work within the areas of my passions.
I am stressed because I have too many social events happening, but I am also grateful for having so many amazing friends and a loving family which I want to spend time with, and that also wants to spend time with me. I am grateful for being exposed to and invited to all these events because it means that my life is full of adventures and possibilities to learn, grow and enjoy life.
Whenever I articulate my gratitude towards the things I feel stressed about, the stress actually decreases. I am not saying it all goes away, but It makes me see the bigger picture again. And that is because when we are feeling grateful we do longer wish for more than we have, or for things to change. Instead we start to appreciate what is already present in our lives.
Gratitude sort of brings us fully into the present moment. And that is the greatest feeling, don’t you agree?
Try if for yourself today, what are you grateful for in your life?