I find that adulting is hard. Not just that, teenage years are hard - in general, life is hard. It can be such a mental journey, dealing with the ups and downs of life. Personally, I always felt so guilty for feeling upset all the time. I assumed that feeling this way was equivalent to being ungrateful. I used to spend so much time worrying about things that were out of my control that I let the little things consume me.
Now, I am in a space where having gratitude for the minute things gives me so much joy. My wants have shifted from material and monetary to very mundane things. Sitting by a river by myself, giving myself time to acknowledge humanity and nature - in general, what a blessing it is to be alive.
Life has its challenges for everyone - you can't compare because everyone deals with things differently, and we are placed in different situations and circumstances. The consensus that we all can have, though, is gratitude.
Alongside being career-focused, be life-focused. It's the best thing to be career-focused. Having a destination to go to is always great because no matter how long it takes you to get there, at least you know where you are going. The thing is, times change, and sometimes what you want to do in your career changes. This recently happened to me; I found that even though my career path isn't certain, focusing on my life and building a healthy lifestyle is so important. Creating daily habits and doing things that help you have peace and gratitude. Focusing on your life includes things like prioritising your sleep, making sure you are eating healthy, and even including time in your day to work out.
Celebrate the little things - By celebrating every little thing, life becomes even more special. Someone once told me that I live my life like a movie - this was the greatest compliment - not because I do so much, but because I definitely take efforts to romanticize my life, all the little things. If I am going out for a simple dinner, I dress up! I make a night of it. If I have a day off and some leftover food in the fridge, I plate it up and put some water in a wine glass and sit in the sun and eat it for lunch. It may sound silly sometimes, but it truly is such an effective way to achieve gratitude.
I say that having gratitude and appreciating things more saved my life because it did. I struggled throughout my life with mental health issues. It was always an internal battle. The highlights of my life are always in a headspace of gratitude - in a place where I took the time to be thankful and appreciative. It's a game-changer, trust me. Thankfully, mental health is now being talked about more. I notice that people are afraid to talk about what they struggle with because it is exposing and can open them up to be attacked. At the end of the day, hearing other people's stories is important. It is important to know that you are not alone. I find it easier to write about my experiences than to talk about them. So that's what I try and do on this platform. Write about everything in such a personal way, hoping that even one person can read this and think, "Same, dude, same."
Appreciation - I wrote this sentence somewhere a long time ago and think it's relevant to this piece of writing: "A lived life is based on a thankful attitude.