We All Deserve To Care For Our Minds

Begin Again

20 Things Life is too Short to Worry About

Sometimes my life feels like it's stuck in neutral – like I'm stuck in an endless loop of introduction with no progress. It's during these times in my life that I stop, sit down, close my eyes, and reset my brain for 10 to 15 minutes. In doing this, I drop my so-called "problems" from my mind and awaken feeling fresh and energized.

Long before I was some new-agey nutjob, though, I was (and still am) a nerd with a penchant for numbers and tech, so I tracked my worries as I released their grip on me. Here are some problems I found myself worrying about far too often before I discovered how to meditate and refocus.
Life is too short to worry about...
1 – ...Bills

Death and taxes are far from the only guarantees in life. You'll repeatedly have your heart broken, enjoy the sun, the moon, eat drink, and be merry – and you'll have a hard time in life without paying bills.

Whether monthly, quarterly, or annually, bills are relentless. If you ignore them, they only get bigger, louder, and more destructive. The thing is: we all have bills...and letting them run your life isn't going to improve its quality any time soon.
It's easy to say not to worry about bills. Everyone knows it's not a good idea to worry about them, but when you're drowning in debt and have minimal to no income, it's a little harder to keep wipe those pesky bills off your mind.

Being told life is too short to worry about bills is one thing; having the confidence to stand tall despite insurmountable debt is an entirely different beast. At various points in my life, I've slept on floors, lived in a car or van, and couch-surfed with friends and family – I can assure you that losing your house, car, cable, gas, etc. won't kill you. I survived a lot.

Stop fearing your bills – you're letting them control your life. Create a budget for yourself and stick to it. Put your budget over anything else. This will help you get a better view of your bills and how they affect you.

If you're struggling to make ends meet, cut some of your nonessential bills. Cable TV is one of the easiest bills to cut. There's a plethora of entertainment options out there, and even if you subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, you'll be spending less annually than a cable bill.

Pay back any debts to family and friends first. They're the people who will be there for you at the bottom, not your bank and utility companies. Keep your collateral loans (i.e auto loan and mortgage) current. The last thing you want to lose is your home and car. If you have to choose between the two, sacrifice your home over your car. In a worst case scenario, it's better to be mobile.

2 – ...Money

Money is the cause of and solution to life's most unnecessary problems. We need bread – there's no denying that – we just don't need to allow cheddar to be the source of undue stress. Always remember that currency is imaginary, and economies don't exist in nature. Since moolah is imaginary, all of your worries about said funds are in your head. People do some strange things for paper, and I'll never understand why. Material wealth doesn't equate to happiness.

Instead of stressing about your supply of coinage, try focusing on the things that make you happy. If you pursue a job that satisfies your desire for greenbacks, you risk ending up in a career you hate. Dinero won't solve that problem, nor will it help you find like-minded friends. People who pursue their dreams and passions always have more fulfilling stages than those motivated by loot.

3 – ...The Past
The beef-witted among us who don't learn history are doomed to hear it repeated over and over by those who do. Most of humanity's violent wars were waged because of conflicting beliefs over what happened in the past. The past is important to learn from, but you shouldn't let it get in your way and become a burden. Instead, face forward, and brush that dirt off your shoulders.