Three Insane Ways to Stay Sane By Laura Michele :)
Gumball Machines & Toy Store Dreams: Be a Kid.
Be a kid. Simple statement but not so simple to do. Why isn’t it easy? Because our dumb egos get in the way that’s why! We are often too proud to make fools of ourselves. Well be a fool! Play in the toy stores, swing on the swings in the park, use your last quarter in the gumball machine to get a nifty little toy! Who cares if a stranger (or 2, 3, 12, 547 strangers) sees you? They are called strangers for a reason… because YOU DON’T KNOW THEM, and they are probably strange too but just good at hiding it. So you see, it doesn’t matter what they think because strangers have no bearing on your life and odds are you’ll never see them again. Be playful and young at heart! It helps to take your mind off your worries and live in the moment, plus create crazy memories! Ask yourself this… Would I rather do something out of the ordinary and have fun being able to say I did it, OR sit on the sidelines and regret putting yourself out there for your own benefit?
2. Where’s That Voice Coming From… Oh, It’s Me: Think Out Loud
This is sometimes key to keeping your sanity. Like when you read your grocery list out loud in the store and don’t realize that other people in the aisle now know you need to buy oranges, cookies, and toilet paper. That’s when you say “Oh I need peanut butter too”, completely disregarding the fact that the elderly lady buying soda crackers next to you doesn’t care about your peanut butter dilemma. What would you do if you didn’t think out loud? You’d forget the peanut butter and be frustrated later on! But seriously, when people are most stressed and on edge I think hearing your own voice helps. So in unimportant situations like the one above (unless peanut butter IS an important matter for you, in which case I apologize for making it seem frivolous), to something which deeply effects you, I think hearing your concerns, fears, or whatever is on your mind out loud, really helps. You can vent to someone or grumble to yourself under your breath. Either way talking out loud allows you to get it out and sometimes puts things into perspective.
3. It’s Only Real If You Believe In It: Use Your Imagination.
I truly believe it’s okay to be unrealistic. It’s okay to pretend for a little while. Anything you can imagine in a positive way causes you to grow as a person. Imagine what it would feel like to be in someone elses shoes (you gain empathy), to be famous and looked up to (you gain aspirations), to find your true love today (you gain hope). What’s unrealistic to some is complete reality to others. For example one person in a hard situation could think “This sucks, my life sucks, everything sucks…” while another person in the same situation could think “this is a great learning experience”. Where one person finds pessimism another finds optimism. It’s all about the reality that you see. So imagine the best for yourself. Dream big, and then dream even bigger.
