Have you ever stopped to think about how one decision, no matter how tiny it may seem, can change how the rest of your journey on this planet unfolds? I think about this frequently, with questions such as, “What if I sent my deposit to another college during my senior year of high school?” or “What if I made a move on this crush I had at one point, but didn’t because I was too scared of rejection or other people’s opinions? Would it have worked out?”
On the one hand, it’s an exciting realization that you truly are the primary author of the book of your life. It can give you an immediate sense of relief and motivation that you have the free will to make beneficial choices that can really help you in the long run. On the other hand, however, it can be detrimental to contemplate this idea when the possible outcomes are not so fun to deal with, to put it mildly.
I feel like the latter is something I encounter daily; I’m sure many other college students can relate to this impending fear that what we do during these critical academic years can dramatically impact our story forever. But for me, my brain constantly tells me that one minuscule action could potentially ruin the future I envision for myself, even though most times I’m aware that this is likely far from true.
So, I’ve decided to take on a lifelong goal: For every unwanted thought that comes across my mind, I’m going to practice not necessarily erasing that thought (because that would be impossible since the thought already came into existence), but rather adding a positive yet viable one instead in an attempt to override my compulsive negativity at that moment. That way, I can at least dismantle and combat spans of unease or uncertainty when they occur to cast a glimpse of hope onto the rough terrain of my mental processes.
I encourage you to do something similar, to somehow hold yourself accountable to keep going (without having to completely push hardships aside or move past them right away) when you might fall down here and there. I think that this simple endeavor would improve one’s well-being, and as you might now guess, even for the long term.