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Are you an anxious person?

I recently found myself tuning into how I valued anxious thoughts. I think most of us prefer not to have them.

There’s so much weight placed on the phrase, “If it costs your peace of mind, it’s too expensive.” You’ve likely convinced yourself that the sentiment is worth committing to and tried to apply it to many aspects of life.

I’ve done the same and thought I believed it with everything in me…

Until some self-reflection revealed that a little anxiety (NOT my peace ) is what helps me perform at my best.

There’s a reason why I do well in emergencies. Or set my clock fast to create a sense of urgency. Those uncomfortable feelings sometimes take me far…

I thought valuing my peace meant my anxious thoughts held little TRUE value other than to disrupt my life.

I can’t be the only one. We’re taught peace of mind is valuable. Plus, society has a way of shaming anxious people…

That doesn’t mean a little disruption should be avoided and shamed at all costs. There’s value in our anger and anxious thoughts too.

I realized, in some cases, my peace wasn’t serving me as much as I thought.

Fortunately, we can change our definitions of worth.

Meanwhile, shifting the value placed on specific memories is what helped me in grieving my grandmother when she passed in August.

The loss was made harder because I couldn’t remember the last time I physically hugged her. My most recent in-person photo of her was sitting behind a window talking on the phone when we visited Trinidad. It’s a painful memory, that disturbed my peace. But a valuable one nonetheless so I held on to it… and continued to shame myself for not remembering something as significant as the last embrace with Granny.

Then I found a photo of pink dollies that made me smile. I remember nearly every time she traveled from Trinidad and crotched them. I didn’t care much then. Now that she’s gone, those dollies mean the world along with the memory of her making them.

It brought me a profound sense of peace I didn’t know I needed. At that time, it was peace and not the uncomfortable thoughts that took me further.

And just like that I shifted the associated value. Remembering the tender hands’ crocheting dollies was worth much more than forgetting our last hug. Changing the value made it that much easier to forgive myself, move forward, and grieve in peace.

It’s interesting how value changes in alignment with your life, whether it’s a distantly found memory, a wedding you spent thousands on, or shoes you bought on clearance. You get to decide what it’s worth to you regardless of what others say.

How you value things doesn’t do anything to your self-worth. All it does is put you in control of deciding what’s worth having power over you. Choose to value what aligns with your life. Adjust as necessary and be proud of yourself for recognizing a necessary shift.

These affirmations are perfect for building confidence in assessing value

Money Tip

Happy Life Tip

We spend so much time preparing for the worst-case scenarios which means we spend a lot of time focusing on the worst situations. Plan for the good things too. You can try writing down that recipe you threw together on the fly. It could be a hit that everyone requests again. Prepare for when that social media post goes viral. Prepare for when that brilliant idea comes to you. Prepare for when you finally get the recognition you deserve. Emergency prep is good, but being ready for all the good can fill your life with so much joy too.

Since we’re on the topic of peace, nothing brings me more peace than a simple life and a manageable to-do list. This book, The Power of Less, helps make it happen. I’ve read it three times and each time I take away an important nugget. If you’re curious, you can purchase using my affiliate link here.

I sincerely hope these links and tips bring you to a better place mentally. If nothing else, please take this with you and repeat it daily as needed.

"What matters will stay with me as long as I need it to"

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