When Life Gets Overwhelming, Remember to Breathe

Patience was never my strong suit. Neither was staying calm during stressful situations.

I was always the type of person who would make rushed decisions whenever I was in the heat of a rushed moment (especially when I hadn’t eaten and was beyond famished).

It took me a long time to finally grasp the concept of “slowing down” whenever life got too hectic. I was always “go, go, go”

I would rarely think ahead. I could never place myself outside of the moment that I was currently in, and I never stopped to consider the consequences of my actions.

I could only see the situation that was at-hand and never the full picture. I soon realized that this was a major flaw of mine, amongst many of course.

If you’re like this, its hard to change that mindset. So, let me put it into perspective for you —

Would you want a surgeon who was operating on you to only perform a temporary fix or would you want them to operate so that it gave you the best possible results that would yield the best quality of life?

I don’t know about you, but I would hope for the latter.

Or to give another, less morbid example, think about it this way—

Would you rather receive one million dollars today or five million dollars spread out from now until the end of your life?

Either way, the point is that long-lasting, lifetime results are much more valuable and effective than instant gratification.

At least, that’s what I’ve learned over time as I’ve gotten a little older.

I make a lot of references to long-distance running and writing in many (or most) of my articles.

That’s because I have first-hand experience in both areas and I know that both practices require a great deal of time, patience, and consistency— Not to mention self-discipline, perseverance, and endurance.

If you are a [true] writer or a [true] runner, then you know that you are in it for the long-haul.

Sure, there may be some setbacks along the way, but these are passions that you would never give up easily and will never get too far away from you.

The reason why I bring up these two things is because both writing and running involve a large amount of time and effort that can easily render you tired and breathless.

One of the single-most important things to be mindful of during the process of writing and running (to me) is rest.

Over time, long distance running wears you out. Over time, writing wears you out.

Writing requires a great deal of mental activity. Similarly, running takes a huge physical and mental toll on both your mind and body.

Making sure that you don’t burn out is extremely important — You don’t want to be taken out of the game completely, right?

In life, we all get tired at some point. You’d be lying to yourself if you said that you didn’t.

The thing that you just have to remember to do when life seems too overwhelming or too hectic is remember to breathe.

You can’t properly assess situations or make sound decisions when you are tired, under stress, or are feeling fatigued.

Sometimes the immediate solution isn’t making a split-second decision, but instead, taking a step back to breathe, relax, and re-assess.

Think about the bigger picture. Think about the long-haul.

Allow yourself the time to make the best decision possible and make sure that you don’t burn yourself out.

“Run mad as often as you choose, but do not faint” — Jane Austen