50 Going on 2

When work feels overwhelming, remember that you’re going to die.

We have a coffee mug in our office with those words written on it. It isn’t that I need to be reminded of this certainty. I do not. In my life, it has become a mantra of sorts. One that I probably say to myself no less than twenty times a day – replacing “work” with whichever other of a multitude of situations fits the bill. Responsibilities. Other people. Resisting chocolate chip cookies. Life.

Life is often overwhelming. Especially when you forget to stop sweating the small stuff, and you allow yourself to be sucked into the misery and ingratitude of the perennially miserable and ungrateful.

Lately, a cast of thousands.

It cannot be overstated – some things are important, and some just aren’t. If you resist getting a handle on what is and isn’t important, you are going to fail at life while simultaneously inflicting unnecessary gloom on everyone around you. If you consciously choose to be overwhelmed only when necessary, you’ll find there are a lot fewer instances where being overwhelmed is required than you probably thought.

I am consistently astounded by the minimal conditions needed to incite the most absurd levels of frustration and anger in people. As if someone is pointing a gun at them. Or their loved ones. Or at their chocolate chip cookies.

Really. Take a deep breath. Count to 100. Be thankful you’re breathing. If you can’t do those things, just be quiet. You’re ruining it for the rest of us who’ve realized it isn’t worth the effort to have temper tantrums.

We all have stress and heartache in our lives. When it seems too much to bear, it’s important to remember one truth – it will all end. Save your energy for when it actually counts.