We live in a society driven by results, productivity, and the financial bottom line. In order to achieve desired outcomes, we push ourselves harder and harder, looking to milk all the success we can from the tasks we work on. Not only is pressure self-inflicted, but external forces can often create a great deal of stress as well.
There is nothing inherently bad about putting ourselves in difficult situations. The greatest inventions in human history have come from relentless effort and trials. Evolution doesn’t happen without a bit of pain along the way.
This pressure, however, becomes unhealthy when we subject ourselves to it for the wrong reasons.
When we stress ourselves to impress people, reach arbitrary objectives, or just because other people are doing the same thing, we need to reconsider our actions.
It always comes back to clearly defining your own personal goals, and aligning your actions with those goals. If something doesn’t fit in with those priorities, cut it loose. You have nothing to lose by cutting it, and potentially everything to lose by allowing it to consume your time and energy.
When we begin to entertain this idea of avoidance, we begin to worry. We worry about how other people will perceive us, and what the repercussions of our decision will be. The short answer: whatever happens doesn’t matter.
All that is needed to prove this point is to temporarily detach ourselves from those exact forces – the ones causing the stress in our lives. Take a break from social media, stop watching the news, or go on a trip away from home.
Once we remove ourselves from that environment, we find that many of our fears were groundless. The world continues to flourish with or without other people’s opinions, and we become happier when we realize that we are ultimately the only people who determine our own happiness.
The things that we believe are necessary and integral for success in life are by no means the be-all end-all. There are simply too many ways to live life outside of our presuppositions.
When you feel like the imposing forces are suffocating you, step back and detach. When you’ve escaped their grasp, you realize the fear they inflict and the stress they cause are facultative. By no means do you have to buy in to the constructs set out by society and the powers that be.
Be aware of what causes you grief, and don’t be afraid to detach yourself.