The Struggle is Real

I love personal development. Blog posts, books, conversations, etc… all of these things inspire me to grow as a human being. I am all about becoming your best self and doing all you can to be the best you can be… But sometimes, I get really overwhelmed.

I get overwhelmed by choices, reading I need to do, jobs, money, food, workouts, questions like: “where will you be living in August?” and “How are you going to pay for school?”.  I think that we can all agree that the feeling of being crushed by life's tasks is quite difficult. #strugglebus

So how do you deal with the weight of being overwhelmed?  In my most recent experience, I have realized that the way in which I deal with stress can change the outcome of my entire week. Let me explain, a few weeks ago, a crazy 7 days culminated to a difficult conversation that caused me to really think about my future plans and where I see myself this fall. Thus, my Sunday evening resulted in ice cream for dinner with gluten free cookies as my post workout (actually it was a two hour walk) snack. I also spent some quality time hiding under the covers of my bed with three pups keeping me company.  This was all followed by the last thirty minutes of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on ABC Family.

My evening may make me sound like a pitiful mess but the great thing is that I absolutely needed this time to recharge, be slightly pathetic, and let myself feel the weight of being overwhelmed. If I had not let myself wallow for a minute and realize that I DO NOT have all of the answers, I may have had a severe breakdown in the following week. But this does not mean that I allow myself to stay in a place of woeful cookie eating.  I think it is beneficial to be okay with being in a place of dismay, realize why you are there, and then orient yourself out of that land.

This year, I am continuing to understand the power of being vulnerable and honest with others about the fact that being great takes a lot of hard work and sometimes that results in my life looking a little different. When we are okay with not having all of the answers, it can empower us to search deeply for the best thing for our lives.  It also causes us to realize the work that it takes to be the absolute best that we can be. One of my friends reminded me that if you are not uncomfortable, you are not growing, so embrace the uncomfortable and learn to endure the times of uncertainty.  Sometimes it is through these times of uncertainty that you can actually gain some really great perspectives on life.. And maybe write a blog post about your experience.

If you care to share that would be grand.

xoxo Amy Shenk