‘Life is a journey, not a destination’

Recently, I’ve been stressing about my future and worrying about tomorrow and going through the day overthinking all the different things I have to do. After a while, it began to feel like this was the new norm for me as every day would be full of stress and planning.

I felt as if I was so caught up on the future that I wasn’t enjoying the little things that come with day-to-day life, like something as simple as talking to your friends and enjoying the moment.

Once I realized this, I knew I had to make a change to my mindset of life. The future will come and there are things that I must think about and work toward, but I can’t let it overtake my personal life and intervene with the things that make me happy–to a certain extent.

I’ve decided that I need to prioritize my enjoyment of life above all. I need to live more in the moment and this is very cliché, but take some time to “stop and smell the flowers along the way.”

It’s been a little over a week since I started using this mindset and what I can say is that everything is simply better and more stress-free.

The smallest things become a lot more than what you normally think. What once was a simple game of basketball at the Rec Center becomes a stress-reliever where I can spend time with my friends and forget about homework, work the next day or studying for the next big test. There will be a time that I will have to focus on all of those responsibilities, but this time is for me and I’m going to appreciate every minute of it.

The long, incredibly boring walk to class becomes much better when you look up at the surroundings you usually ignore and actually take the time to enjoy them. Whether it be the sky’s shade of blue, the wildlife on campus or the friends you see along the way, there is always something to give that sense of relief.

Without taking the time to think about these small things and stopping to truly appreciate them, life begins to feel dull, repetitive and, in a sense, like a constant state of working.

If you feel as if the stress of life is bearing down on you, I would definitely recommend trying out this mindset on life.

Every day is a new day and the key to enjoying it is looking for the best in every moment you’re in.