These are two things that I have struggled with a lot for quite a while. Perhaps you have these same reservations or maybe you have no clue what I am talking about. It may sound silly and contrary to what others usually profess ‘that you shouldn’t concern yourself with others opinions of you’, which is totally true! What others think of me is none of my business, but it’s not always easy and as much as I try, I find myself worrying about this. Even worse, when I meet someone for the first time I often think that they don’t like me for one reason or another. Weird, I know. Just ask any one of my friends and they will tell you! I really don’t know where I got this from and the funny thing is that I’ve been wrong 100% of the time. The people who I thought didn’t like me are now my BEST FRIENDS! Just goes to show! This has taught me to be more open and give people chances. Don’t get me wrong, I still have moments of weakness, we all do, I’m not perfect, but I am working on it.

With regard to stress, I’m a total stress ball. If there is something remotely troublesome I am definitely stressing about it. What I’ve discovered is that quite often my stress is linked to expectations, not always the expectations of others, but what I expect of myself. I find that I am my own worst critic, judge and jury. Others commend me on the things I have accomplished. However, I often seem to forget just how far I’ve come and there are times where I feel that I just haven’t done enough. I know this is the wrong attitude and I am working on it. I’m trying to be more positive and to not always expect the worst. The most important thing I find is that I cannot let myself get in a rut. No matter how dire I think the situation is (not as often as I’d like to think) I should take steps to change the problem rather than putting all my energy into worrying about whatever it is or avoiding it.

One thing is for sure! Over the years I have learned to manage these hurdles a whole lot better. I basically try to think things through as logically and reasonably as possible because at the end of the day things aren’t always as bad as they seem.  

I’ll make a list of what I do and coping mechanisms I have personally found helpful in a later blog post. 🙂 

Have a lovely day wanderers and remember to ‘stress less’, SMILE and enjoy all the beautiful things life has to offer if you only allow yourself to see them!!