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There’s a series going around on Huffington Post about stressing less, in which multiple HuffPo writers have shared a list of things that they have decided are just “not worth the stress.” Some of them are serious, like “worrying that I’m overreacting or having irrational feelings about something,” while others are less so, such as stressing over their disdain for brown rice, “I can’t get on the brown rice bandwagon, and I’ve decided to just allow myself the periodic pleasure of white rice,” or worrying about how much cheese they eat.
One thing I’m very very good at is stressing out about things that are either out of my control, or that in the grand scheme of things just don’t matter. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make my own “stress less” list. There are plenty of things that are worth stressing out and worrying about…. like what goes into your body, staying active and healthy, making bad financial decisions, being a good friend, etc… but I’m pretty talented at stressing myself out about a whole slew things of things that are just not worth the time, energy, or, well, the stress.
So here you have it…
8 Things I Decided Are Just Not Worth the Stress
1. Feeling guilty (or weird) about my blog. This is something I’ve been working on since this post. If you don’t have a blog, you might be thinking to yourself, “you stress out about your blog? How stupid is that!” but the answer is yes, I do. Am I posting enough? Am I growing my readership as fast as others are? Do I even really care about growing my readership? Why did that post only get two comments? Did my tone come off wrong? Do people in real life think I’m narcissistic for having a blog? Do I share too much? Am I not sharing enough? Am I turning people off by throwing in the occasional bad word? Along with many more, these are all thoughts that go through my head on a weekly basis. Sad but true. I love my blog and because I love it, sometimes I worry about it. I feel bad when I don’t give my blog the attention I think it deserves, and I sometimes worry about coming off wrong in my posts. But, for those of you that said “that is stupid!” you are right! It is stupid! I blog because I like to, plain and simple. While I should continually aim to post content I’m proud of (which admittedly doesn’t happen all the time), I shouldn’t care so much about everything else. Which leads me to the next thing…
2. Worrying about what people think of me. Okay guys. I have a confession to make. Try as I might not to, I care about what other people think of me. I know admitting that makes me sound insecure, but it’s true. And.. gasp… I want people to like me. I do. When I find out someone doesn’t like me, it hurts my feelings, and sometimes I take it too personally. This one is easier said than done, and it’s a work in progress, but I’m a lot more comfortable in my own skin than I used to be. I can’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and there are plenty of people out there who like me and I think I’m awesome, so why worry about those that don’t? Not worth the stress.
3. Getting irritated when someone tags me in an unflattering picture on facebook. The other morning I signed on to facebook and saw that I been tagged in a photo from Hawaii. I was in a bathing suit, in a very unflattering position. I looked like I had some major thunder thighs, and I was NOT happy that I had been tagged. I immediately untagged myself, but it had already accumulated quite a few likes (wtf?), and for a good 30 minutes I was annoyed that that picture of me existed on the interwebs and that so many people had seen it (mostly because I am particularly insecure about my thighs).
But seriously? Who do I think I am? It’s a picture. Not life or death. I mean…. there are really no words to describe what a waste of my time focusing on something like that is. Totally not worth the stress.
4. Our small 70s style apartment. Kevin and I have lived in our apartment for over three years. When we first moved in, I don’t think either of us thought we would be here this long. After we got married I was adamant about moving, but it was right around that time that the SF rental also went nuts (check out this infographic for context). For us to get a bigger or nicer place, we would have to pay a good $1000 more a month, and well, a nicer place wasn’t (and isn’t) worth that to us. But, I get incredibly jealous when I visit friends who live in huge remodeled SF apartments, and I start to feel like our remodeled-in-the-70s apartment isn’t nice enough, and I start to stress about everything we should be doing to make it better. When in reality our place is pretty great. We have a two-bedroom apartment in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city, and other people in our building are paying $700 more than us a month for the exact same thing. So the fact that our kitchen looks like it was straight out of the Brady Bunch? Who cares. Not worth the stress.
5. Feeling bad about how much TV I watch. Kevin and I watch a lot of television, and I feel like non-tv watchers are always being all judgy and giving us crap about it, telling us what a waste of time it is, how it’s rotting our brains, etc. etc., and then I always feel bad about it. But you know what? I love TV! There are a lot of great shows out there right now. Walking Dead. Breaking Bad. Downton Abbey. Game of Thrones. Girls. Homeland. Dexter. Modern Family. True Blood. And I love them all. Watching them brings joy to my life, and it’s something Kevin and I enjoy doing together. Do I need to watch the Kardashians because I’m bored or hungover on a Sunday? Probably not. But does that mean I should feel bad about it? No. I have a very active and busy life, and TV happens to be a part of it. Not worth the stress.
6. Wrinkles. It seems like everyday I find some new sign of aging. From random sunspots to cleavage wrinkles to my first gray hair, it’s something new all the time. I don’t know if I’m just hyper-aware of everything now that I’m 30, but I’ve been less than pleased with these new developments. However, wrinkles and whatnot are a part of life. Other than taking care of my skin as best I can, there’s not much I can do about it, so I might as well just age gracefully and stop stressing out about it. Plus, doesn’t stress just cause more wrinkles? Sooooo not worth the stress.
7. My lack of baby fever. I feel guilty that I don’t yet want kids. I want to want a baby, but right now, I just don’t, and that worries me. I stress out about my fertility and all the “what ifs” that come along with it. And that is dumb. It will happen when it happens. Not worth the stress.
8. Letting myself get riled up by random people on the internet. Oh man, I don’t even want to admit how often I’ve found myself sitting behind my computer with steam coming out of my ears, just because some random person posted something online that was a big fat lie. When people post stupid ignorant things, I tend to get way too emotionally involved. When Sandy Hook happened and people on twitter and facebook would make comments saying that the answer was more guns, I’d get upset. When people would post things about our heath care system that were blatantly false, I would get angry.
But what a waste of energy! Why should it bother me if someone I went to high school with but haven’t spoken to in years thinks Anne Coulter is awesome? Not worth the stress.
What are some things that you’ve decided just aren’t worth the stress?
Please share in the comments!
Or better yet, if you have a blog,
write a post about it and we can start our own “stress less” series!
P.S. Check out my friend Margaret’s stress less list here!
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I’d love to find out what you decide to do!
sigh…. 
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I never would have known. I will start getting happy now…it’s never to late, right!?
Jessica recently posted…In With the New
I had no idea it was happiness day but I met up with the fiance for a coffee date and said it would be my treat when he ordered. Then the lovely starbucks barista said since I was being nice and treating my fiance, he would be nice and treat me so I got my latte for free! Maybe he knew it was International Happiness Day…
Stephanie recently posted…Ani + Tim | Wine Country Love
So bummed it was raining today too! You should definitely include this post in Artsocial’s be happy link up on Thursdays! Just check her site for instructions tomorrow
Camille | Planning Pretty recently posted…Ombre Easter Eggs
Hey! Lovely post! I could use more happiness in my day. I just went to the Day of Happiness website and I do feel more happy! I’ll have to remember this for next year.
-Jade (found you on BBN!)
Oh what I wouldn’t give for rain right now (we’re under a winter weather advisory right now…)!
The Day of Happiness sounds pretty awesome too- random acts of kindness really are the best.
Margaret recently posted…Throwback Thursday
Makes sense to me that this would take place on the first day of spring! I guess the first day of summer should be something like The International Day of Even More Happiness Yay! Hahah
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Jess
Hi Serena, so nice to meet u thru the be happy linkup! I think it’s so important to choose to be happy! not only for yourself, but for those around u =) Happy Spring! xo
Louise Edu recently posted…Keep Walking
Welcome! I’m so excited you joined the linkup this week! Thank you so much for sharing that it was the International Day of Happiness! Kind of perfect for us that it happened to be a Thursday.
alyssa recently posted…Kitchen Adventures; Dark Chocolate Sweet Potato Bread Pudding