Should We Really Eat the Cake?

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On social media, I see the post all the time that says, “Take the Trip, Buy the Shoes, Eat the Cake”.    What is this post really saying?  Let’s investigate this together.  

Could this post be saying: “Just take the trip to be happy even if you can’t really afford it.  The trip is sure to make you feel better.”  Or maybe instead it says: “Buy the shoes, you may not have room for them but they will make you feel good.”  And possibly it is shouting: “Just eat the whole darn cake when you want to because eating those calories is sure to cheer you up.  I mean, come on, life is short!”

Could it be telling us this?

 So of course, yes, life is short!  I can appreciate what this post is trying to make clear to us, but is it really teaching us the right way to look at our life? Ask yourself these questions: Does the trip really make you happy after you come back?  Do the shoes cheer you up for good because you just wanted that certain pair?  And after eating the whole darn cake, are you finally happy now?  

If you are like me then the answer to all of these questions is a very definite NO!  We need to start changing our perception of what happiness really means in this world today.   Where does true happiness lie?  Does it lie in the “stuff” we have in our life or the empty calories we put in our body?  Do all of these things truly make us happy?

Happiness is so much more than that!  True happiness really exists when we get to the root of what is making us unhappy and figure out how to turn that around. Take a moment and think about your life?  Are you happy with your career?  Are you happy in your marriage?  Do you feel content most days or does anxiety control your life?  Do you feel pleasure starting your day or do you struggle to get out of bed?  How do you really feel inside?

For as long as I can remember, I have had an anxious, type A, OCD personality.  I didn’t feel good inside.  In high school, I worked so hard to achieve decent grades.  I would literally lose sleep if I was getting a “C” in any class.  (It’s funny how back then having a “C” is the worst thing that could happen in my tiny little world.) 

As I continued to grow up, I would push myself to achieve success even if it meant forgoing my health.  At one point, I was so overwhelmed that I ended up getting a few health scares due to the amount of stress I put on myself.  And yes, I wrote that correctly…it was the amount of stress I put on myself! 

My parents never pushed me to get good grades (they usually talked me down when I was upset over the “C”).   My husband never made me feel that I needed to do more or be more (usually he was telling me to breath once in a while).   So, why was I not truly happy and living my best life?  It’s because I wasn’t taking time to fix me…to get to the root problem of why I felt the way I did inside.  The feeling inside that I wasn’t really sharing with those in my life.   For me, it really came down to these simple words: My Anxiety & My Mental Health.

 Mental Health or, the much better term we use now, “Brain Health”, is so important in our society, yet it has such a stigma that nobody wants to talk about it or even consider looking into it.  If we do, we may appear weak, defeated, or just plain strange for questioning the health of our brain.

Today, I am here to talk about it.  And if that is really the case, then let me look weak, or defeated, or maybe just plain strange. I don’t care!  Today, I am here to end this stigma and to share how I fixed me in the hopes of it encouraging all of you to be brave with your brain health too.

About a year ago, I had some friends in my life that were brave enough to share their story with me.  They were brave enough to say that they realized they needed help, and they got it.  It was from that point on that I started to really figure out ways to fix this anxiety problem, to change how it was affecting my life, and figure out how to feel better inside. 

Yoga and meditation were an amazing addition to my life, but it still didn’t fix everything I was feeling.  And then, finally, I saw my doctor.  We decided the best treatment plan for me, and I ended up getting the medication I needed.  And here is the great news — the anxiety and stress over obstacles in my life that should not have upset me… well guess what…they no longer did.  I am now the happiest I have ever been because I took the time to find the true culprit of what was bringing me down.  And I finally realized…after all this time…that it was unhappiness that could not be fixed with shoes or cake. (And believe me when I say this is speaking volumes because I love both of these things very much).

So yes, you are right social media.  Life IS short and we SHOULD be happy!  But let’s stop assuming that happiness lies in stuff or in calories.  Let’s start speaking the truth.  Our happiness starts first with how we feel inside.  I truly believe you will see amazing things if you can take the time to dig deep, get to the root of what is bringing you down, and then most importantly, fix it.

And it’s important to remember this next part…fixing it for you may appear different then how I fixed mine.  The key is to fix your unhappiness.  Maybe it’s some overdue changes you need to make in your life.  Maybe for you, it will be yoga, meditation, counseling, medication or even all of the above.  Here is what I do know…as soon as you start fixing how you feel inside, you will start to notice that you want to take a trip for the adventure not for the happiness.  You will buy the shoes because…I mean, come on…they just look amazing on your feet.  And you will seek out a slice of cake to satisfy that sweet tooth without thinking the whole cake is what you really need.  It’s finally time…It’s finally time to get your brain healthy, to get yourself happy, to finally choose happiness, & to finally choose YOU. 

Xoxo

Marsha

*For those of you struggling with something in life or have a topic of interest that you want me to talk about in this blog, email me at BeYourBestSelfBlog@gmail.com.  Let’s work together to Be Our Best Selves!

Photo Credit:  Photo by caramelle bakery from Pexels