A really important concept to grasp is that just doing to smallest thing you can will help.
Need to change and wash your sheets but you can’t being yourself to do it? Just change the pillowcases. Just make the bed. Just wiping off the crumbs is enough.
Need to read a paper and do a write up? Just read the paper. Just listen to the paper through a screen reader. Just skim the sections and the first line. Just read the abstract.
Need to clean a mountain of dirty dishes? Just clean the big things. Just soak the things that need to be soaked. Just gather all the dishes into the sink.
The real key here is that you might just get that one small thing done, but likely what will happen is you’ll finish it and realize ‘hey that wasn’t so bad, I’m already here, what else can I do?’ And you’ll end up finishing the task.
But again, even if you just do the one small thing, that’s worth celebrating, it’s worth being proud of, because it was hard, but you did it. Sleeping in dirty sheets is better than sleeping on dirty sheets with crumbs. Reading the abstract is better than reading nothing, and gathering the dishes is better than leaving them out.
you should really get comfortable believing in love and magic and whimsy or you’ll continue to live a half-life for the rest of the time you have on earth
Do you feel, like, constantly overwhelmed? Unable to focus on tasks and self-care like showering? Have I got the tip for you
I recently got put on this method through a YouTube video recommended to me called the Sharp Ax method. Name doesn't matter, I'm gonna skip right to telling you what to do.
You have a notebook? Maybe one that you've horded and used once or twice before abandoning? Grab that shit. Get your favorite pen. At the top of the page you're going to write "Brain Dump". For like, 10-15 minutes, just sit there and write down every thought that comes to mind. Does your back hurt? Write it. Do you have to make breakfast? Write it.
But here's the thing: if there's something you need to do (paperwork, showering, shopping, etc) you're gonna write it like this.
"I want to shower." "I want to check the mailbox." "I want to do my laundry today."
For whatever reason, reframing things you need to do as things you want to do has helped me so immensely, and even when I can't finish all the things I want to finish, I still feel good for finishing the ones I was able to.
This stupidly simple journaling technique (which doesn't even feel like journalling to me) has caused me to go from being chronically overwhelmed to feeling like, even just for a little bit, everything is going to be okay.
the weekend's here
they dont want us to know this but the real cure to the agonies is to engage in shenanigans. tomfoolery even
Goodluck Pikachu
i cannot emphasise enough how much you need to create something. anything. it doesn't matter if you suck. you don't need to monetise it, or make it your career. you can restart an old hobby; you can start from scratch. it doesn't matter. you just need to hold something and be able to say "i did that". baking, drawing, painting, writing, coding, crafts, whatever. make something ! you cannot have all your hobbies be a form of consumption. it's fun, it's great in its own right. but the single best action to make yourself feel better, to calm your mind, to gain self esteem, is to Create
I’m sorry but if there is one thing the Tumblr left needs crucially, it’s the ability to celebrate.
I remember when marriage equality was called and there were waves of rainbows and love wins posts. When we successfully defeated Donald Trump, there was lukewarm relief, a reminder that you were only allowed one or maybe two days to celebrate and then it was back to work. That is if you were even a good person for voting Biden. We never did settle if he was better than Trump. (We did.). We didn’t celebrate student loan debt relief or any of the accomplishments of the Biden administration, or any of the times Trump was blocked, or other countries succeeding in keeping fascists out of office. Who cares if we had successes? It’s not good enough. Back to work!
And this anti-celebratory attitude stretches back to the past. On the 100th anniversary of female suffrage in America, we were reminded that not all women had the vote and so we weren’t allowed to celebrate. The only post I saw about Juneteenth was reminding us that there were enslaved people who were killed instead of freed and therefore celebrating the end of chattel slavery was wrong, and besides, we have prison labor so nothing really changed or got better and there’s nothing to celebrate anyway. Trans Day of Visibility comes with Trans Day of Remembrance so that people don’t fill the tags with hate crimes and death. So on and so forth. Nothing gets better. Nothing changes. Back to work!
So of course when we have a major setback, we fall apart and have to start frantic damage control. Frantic discourse ensues over how much people are allowed to unplug before it becomes bad and selfish. Yes, maybe you can have this one day off Mr. Cratchit but you better be here and miserable early the next morning. Like abusive bosses always insisting you squeeze out more, more, more, and any achievement is just proof you were lazy the other times and impetus for more work.
If we are never allowed to acknowledge any of our victories, how are we supposed to survive our defeats?
No, you're not wrong.
You're not wrong for wanting a better life for yourself.
You're not wrong for believing that you are deserving of better.
You're not wrong for making those necessary changes in your life.
You're not wrong for changing the way you show up to life.
You're not wrong for distancing yourself from those things that harm you.
You're not wrong.
To put it very bluntly.
You will always make a better impact helping people who need it than trying to hurt people you think deserve it.
It’s annoying but the way you improve yourself is one tiny thing at a time
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