I spend a decent amount of time here and there reflecting on the past and the future. I think it’s a healthy practice to do, when it’s done in a healthy frame of mind. You can’t pretend things haven’t happened in life or shut out thoughts you don’t want to think about. Reflecting on the past is a way of moving forward. Reflecting does not have to be a negative thing. You can also reflect on the positive ideals that you’d like to work on implementing more of into your daily life.

It’s important to remember that the choices we make, the words we speak, and the actions we take, all have an impact. Whether it’s a big impact or just a small impact. Everything is a new turning point leading you along your pathway in life. And often affecting the pathways of the people around you, in your words and actions towards them.

Life can be intensely difficult at times. I can’t imagine there is a single soul out there who feels like everything in their life is going exactly as they planned or wanted. Obstacles pop up one after another. It’s like if our journey was looked at in the aspect of climbing a stairway. But instead of stepping from step to step, you lose your balance between each of them, and stumble before righting yourself again.

There’s nothing to do about these obstacles, but learn how to manage them. For every downfall, there’s going to be an upturn. And for every upturn, there’s going to be a downfall. But if we learn to look at it in a different manner, we can instead keep fairly level. We can step smoothly, instead of stumbling between them and struggling to get upright. Sometimes you can end up really hurting yourself and then after finally pulling yourself up, you’re now carrying pain along your journey. This is what we don’t want. It will end up hindering us down the road. We can’t keep going and thriving and happy when the pain stays there, weighing us down and making even the happy moments difficult. Eventually you’re going to be unable to stay upright.

There are obstacles that require professional attention and there are obstacles that we can find solutions for on our own. It’s important to know when what you’re dealing with is too much to bear. These are the obstacles that will pull you down and you can’t get up without a helping hand.

If we keep a faithful watch on our mental state, reflect honestly on how things are going, see what needs to be changed, we can pick ourselves up, work through the obstacle, and be a little bit lighter on our climb. Maybe we will also learn to be more careful. Don’t let the mind become wandering and forget where you’re going.

One of the first steps I personally have taken for reflection is journaling. It took me many years to finally just pick a notebook out of my collection (I love them!) and start writing. I haven’t wanted to see my anxiety and griefs out in plain sight. It makes them real and I’d rather try keep going in life hoping they’ll disappear. I’ve known that’s not healthy, but it doesn’t make it easier to not do. I just always have made little things in life to look forward to, to try avoid looking back. And that’s not a bad thing, but there’s a time and place for that. It’s not for escape.

As a final thought here, there is zero shame in reaching out to others. I believe a majority of people have kind souls and hearts. Just think about someone you love, and if they were having a hard time, what would you want them to do? You would feel much better knowing that they’re struggling and could use some assistance, instead of them struggling alone. Whether it’s helping them on the next step in finding professional help, or just being a good friend and listening to them. Everyone can do their own little part in making the world a happier place.

❤️ Bethany