10 years

Recently I have been so, so worn! With school, work and my social life. And sometimes I feel like I am wasting so much energy. I have to-do lists in my planner, on my phone and even on my desk. What am I doing! There are so many things that we waste huge amounts of energy on. And worry is always wasted energy. Which (thankfully) won't matter in a few weeks, let alone ten years. Think about it- 10 years from now (varies on who is reading this) you could be married, have three kids, have grand children, be moving to another country, be getting a promotion at your work... wait, pause. That is crazy to think about.

So let's stop.

But here are ten examples of things that you might be stressing about today that will not matter in ten years' time:
1. That super embarrassing moment you just had in front of people
2. That hurtful break up
3. Getting a D on a paper
4. Being late to work
5. Not getting the job that you really wanted
6. Letting your best friend down
7. Spending all your time worrying about school and your GPA
8. Trying to impress your peers
9. Losing one of your favorite clothing items
10. Feeling discouraged with yourself about something you did

We're so stuck in the moment. We never think about the future and think "does this really matter?". We can at least have hope that in ten years, it won't.

Now here is ten things that really will matter, long term.
1.Writing down your goals
2. Telling your friends and family you love them
3. Eating plenty of fruits and veggies
4. Getting up early to work on something that really matters to you
5. Spending time to learn something new
6. Taking time for yourself, to think and pray
7. Doing something completely unexpected for someone
8. Being there for someone, and being a big part of their life
9. Painting, cooking, exercising, journaling- doing things that make you happy
10. Striving on your relationship with The Lord

The things on the second list are the ones that will really matter. Instead of worrying over some little mistake, think about your actions that build up to a bigger picture.

- Focus your attention on the things that will matter in ten years- stop wasting time on the tiny ups and downs of your day that you'll most likely forget about in a week. It's okay to be upset and stressed. It's not a bad thing. But sometimes we focus our time too much on small things. I know I am guilty of it. But when I look back, I think- why the heck did I care that much? It doesn't matter now.

I will never forget how frustrated I was when my computer completely crashed and I lost almost all my music and pictures. But what would I rather look back on in 2023- ten years of stressing over a cleared computer, good grades and a tidy room, or ten years when I made huge strides towards accomplishing my goals.

Think about it.

Thanks for reading!

Regan