What do you think you need to lead a good life? Truth be told, in order to function well on a daily basis, you may have to blind yourself to certain realities. You may also have to swallow some illusions you have about the way things ought to be in this life.
If you do not, you may very well lose your will to even continue. First off, you must learn to care way less about what others think of you, as they truly rarely do. You must come to believe that even if it isn’t in your present, one day you will come to be loved and understood.
Learn to look forward to the next few months and years of your life with enthusiasm despite your struggles. As someone once said: If you think my jokes are bad, you should see some of my life choices. But truly, trust that despite it all, we humans are actually making progress, even though some breakthroughs have unintended consequences.
Despite the fact that some people are simply intolerable from close up, you must still care about humanity, sweet friends. No matter what fate has in store, you ought to look forward to the future.
It’s okay to get excited about those Amazon purchases despite knowing they rarely make a significant difference. As they say: Adding things to my Amazon cart is free therapy. Checking out is the panic attack.
Plan a trip if you can and anticipate it with joy. Make efforts to get together with your family and friends and believe that old age will not be as daunting as we think. You know what they say: Middle age: when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
After all, life is opportunity-filled. Please do not let that escape you despite your hardships. Develop a loving attitude toward people. Your powers of reasoning may outstrip your emotions, but there are still those who can simply melt your heart.
A tricky part of being human is that we feel much more than we actually realize. There are emotions coursing through you at this very moment. Perhaps you are angry, resentful, or fearful, but those feelings lie outside the sphere of your ordinary consciousness.
They may elude you as you rush through your oh-so-busy life. Those emotions may be contrary to some of your expectations or simply too sad, so they lie low. You can harbor resentment against someone you are “supposed” to love. You may be sad and seemingly unable to be grateful at this time.
Sometimes the feelings just flood you, and you simply cannot disentangle them. How much of your life do you dedicate to self-understanding? Unwellness is born out of an accumulation of unfelt emotions.
Carve out time to get in touch with your real feelings, please. Get to know your inner mind. Press yourself to reflect on what you may truly be sad or anxious about. Decode those moments of anger that you never used to notice.
You may very well need your own help. What would your inner child say to you if she or he could speak? Would he simply like to be held tightly? Observe how critically you speak to yourself at times.
Have you grown used to making light of some of the challenges you face in your life? You may have even forgotten about the confident mask you are wearing. Pain that you do not acknowledge may undermine and interfere with your joy.
Those hidden feelings will exact a toll even if you choose to ignore them. Do learn how to console and comfort yourself, sweet friends. You, too, are in part a small child. You get frightened and apprehensive at times. We all do.
Don’t forget to dream. Sometimes I fantasize about a world where I’m in charge. Chocolate makes you skinny, and everything is 75% off. But seriously, you owe a debt to the delicate and doubtful parts of yourself. Take care of the little person you once were, not so long ago.
Caroline is a licensed psychotherapist, crisis counselor, and writer with an office in Woodmere. She works with individuals, couples, and families. Appointments are available throughout the week and on weekends. She can be reached at 917-717-1775 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..