Short messages on Mental health, stress and anxiety issues from Respect Yourself, the guidance site for young people to help make good decisions in life.
What types of work do you dread doing? Are there things that you consistently avoid or put off until the last minute? Take note of training and skill deficiencies that you may have.
When you think about your strengths, list areas in which you excel. What types of work do you find most rewarding, and what training do you have? If you are not sure about this, think about the types of things that others often ask you to do.
Is a past hurt or painful memory fuelling your negative thinking? Choose to let go of that memory every time it comes to mind, and to forgive the person associated with it. Know that this takes time, and there will be days when you won’t feel like letting go. But when you do, you’ll begin to experience inner freedom.
You can free yourself from the mental trap of thinking negatively toward others by thinking “People are doing the best they can.” Choose to believe that they are not purposely trying to hurt you.
Accept that you may instinctively be (at least initially) resistant to changes. It has no bearing on the change being good or bad; it is simply a typical human response to something different.
Changes occur in our lives at regular intervals, whether we are aware of them or not. Life is not static, nor are we meant to be; change is part of our very nature, welcome or not. Change is inevitable and essential.
Volunteering is unique in that it gives you a very pure opportunity to connect with people that you may never have met otherwise. You can learn about yourself through relationships you never would have forged if you hadn’t volunteered your time. “Giving back” reaps perspective.
There are countless people all over the world who are in need of assistance, and volunteering your time and energy enables you to perform a selfless act that simply helps others. Becoming a volunteer is a wonderful way to gain perspective in your own life.
Instead of thinking you’re in the worst-case scenario, reassess the situation. This will help diffuse your negative thinking and you may find something closer to reality.
We can fall into the trap of all-or-nothing thinking, engaging in faulty interpretations of the actions of others. If things don’t go exactly according to our expectations, we immediately turn to the worst-case scenario. This is usually a distortion of reality.