By nature I am a very understanding and a positive person. I don’t stress out easily, unless I feel extremely overwhelmed, and even at that point I try my best to handle things calmly. The people around me would not be able to tell if I am overwhelmed unless I tell them. I can hide it very well. But I am human and I don’t always win.
Not too long ago, I had days where I reached my limit and couldn’t take it anymore. One by one, things started going wrong. And I was very stressed and felt overwhelmed. When I reached that level, even at that time, I know that’s not me and I just needed to hang in there, but that hanging in there time is very hard to do. I am sure many of you can relate to me.
They say when you are under stress or not feeling well, don’t make any big decisions. There is a reason for that because our thinking aren’t clean and we decide things based on our emotions, which is so true. And what did I do? I decided to quit tae kwon do.
Tae kwon do (TKD) has been huge part of my life for a long time. For me TKD isn’t just a physical; it’s also a mind, body and soul exercise. The hour when I am doing TKD that’s the only time in 24 hours I am 100-percent present and I don’t think about anything else but I am fully present.
Due to feeling overwhelmed and stressed, I wasn’t getting enough sleep.I was worried about everything also being at TKD class on time. My body was feeling very tight, and my positive attitude was gone. I was eating unhealthy food. I didn’t feel like doing anything even sitting down and journaling. So what did I do? I decided to take a break from TKD. But before I did that, I talked to my instructor and explained to him what was going on. And I am thinking about taking a break.
My instructor’s name is Hany Youssef. He isn’t just a great instructor. He is also a very good human. He is also a family man and he understand life very well. He listened to me and then he said taking a break wouldn’t solve any of your issues but if you wanted to, you could try. But remember: Exercise always helps to reduce stress. He also said when we are under stress we forget proper breathing. He said I should try to stretch three or four times a day and especially before I go to bed, and that would help me to get a good night’s sleep. He also said at the end of the day, that’s life; we will all always have something to deal with, so instead of resisting, learn how to deal it.
There was nothing he said to me I didn’t know already, but it was a good reminder. And he also pointed out whatever you do, don’t forget to enjoy. I agreed with him.
Many times I find myself focusing on the destination and I forget to enjoy the journey. The very simple things we can do to make our days and life better are slow breathing, laughter and drinking water. How simple and easy things are to do. But as human we get caught up on unnecessary things, and that’s when our focus shifts to things are not important. I need to keep reminding myself that stress isn’t my friend. And instead to worrying about the future, don’t forget to enjoy today and be in control.
“Stress is not what happens to us. It’s our response TO what happens. And RESPONSE is something we can choose.”
– Maureen Killoran, life coach.
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