Take a Walk

Life is stressful. Whether frustrated, heartbroken, or behind on work, it's normal to feel this way. Take a walk. Seriously. Take a walk. Starting at a young age, we are told this. In sports or general conflict, we build up so much emotion, and someone will tell us to take a walk. Why though? It's not a punishment to isolate you from everyone else, nor is it a way to shame you. In reality, that walk is to help you. It's meant to calm you down, and take a few steps back to review whatever has built you up so much.

When you take your first steps, before anything, you have to take some time to relax and take a breather to think clearly. Watch the clouds go by, feel the sun on your skin, or listen to cars drive by and watch the stars. Immerse yourself in your surroundings to take your mind off your problems. If you catch your mind slipping back to your problems, bring yourself back in by either controlling your breath or talking to God. I know it may seem difficult to not think about your problems but it's for the best you don't start planning with a hardened heart. Doing so may be a plan for destruction.

Loneliness isn't your enemy. I know being alone may be difficult for some more than others but a little time to yourself will help you recognize what's going on. It's common for people to say that their heads are spinning because there is no one there to keep them distracted, but this is good! It will definitely suck at first because more often than not we mope and do nothing besides think about how terrible the position we're in is, but as humans, we are inherently problem solvers. Of course, you can ask others for help and for their opinions but you can't ask them to solve the problem for you. This is the time to think about what's going on. Everyone is going through their own issues but we can all review what got us stuck in this position, how to fix the problem, and how to prevent it from happening next time.

Once you've had enough time to calm your racing mind, it's time to begin working on your plan to resolve your problems. Now is the time to learn and understand yourself a bit more through reflection and prayer. What has you feeling this way, what can you do now to fix it and how can you prevent this in the future? Once you've figured out the answers to these questions, begin building a plan to overcome your problems for when they come again. It can be a checklist of things to do or a step-by-step process to remediate. Though writing does help internalize, this doesn't need to be a physical plan, but just something that you can repeat to yourself and remember. At the end of the day, all of our problems will only have been temporary and the sun will rise again.