sharing minimalism: on worrying

i'm mainly documenting this little journey for myself,

as i'm awful at staying organized and writing things down on paper

(thank you, internet)

but if you'd like to gather a little inspiration from it,

that's great!

i mean, hello... i am posting this publicly on the worldwideweb. 

i think step one of this process for me was altering the things that were swimming around in my mind.

if your house were deteriorating, 

and you simply put boards or paint or new drywall over the deteriorating walls,

would that really fix the problem?

no way! 

i believe it's the same with managing possessions and the world around you. 

if you simply change the exterior, or your surroundings, you won't see a lasting change. 

change your thoughts. 

change your views. 

change the way you think and see and feel. 

i found myself asking, "how do you avoid stress?"

this is my little solution.

i'm writing it down, posting it... now i have to really hold myself to it. 

i allow myself a set time in the day to worry and stress about things. 

i "schedule" it, if you will, generally in the early afternoon. 

that way, i can get it all out of the way and use my time more wisely.

if something negative comes up during the day, i allow myself to write it down for later

but i don't allow it to interrupt my day.

this way, i won't be distracted when moments of happiness or potential efficiency strike! 

obviously there are exceptions,

but i find that little things turn into big things turn into headaches turn into a person making themselves ill over something that can just wait! 

i spent too much time feeling overwhelmed and stressed about all that i had to do, little responsibilities i had forgotten to take care of, or things that happened at work. not good!

during this little time, i simply make a list of, or speak aloud to myself, all the things that are currently weighing on me and what i can do to fix them. 

i make a plan of action. 

i'm finding that even when something comes up after my worry period, i'm much less prone to think negatively about it, and therefore can maintain my feelings of wellness for a much longer period! 

getting it all out of the way makes the majority of my day so much lighter!

i swear by it. 

(one more step to getting organized! i'm labeling all past and future musings on this new lifestyle here!)

xo.