Postcards from the Funny Farm

This is a guest post by Chelle from It Might Be Love.

It’s pretty easy to find yourself completely overwhelmed with a seemingly never ending to-do list. We’ve all been there at some point or another, and many of us are there most of the time. I probably have at least 2 or 3 dozen things I “have to do” on any given day.

The other day I was at my “That’s it! I’ve had it!” point. I was yelling at the kids for no good reason and complaining to my husband about everything. There were a million things I had to do and no time to do anything I wanted to do. I was having one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day kind of days.

That’s when my husband reminded me of something very important: You don’t have to.

Those 4 little words couldn’t be more true. What could be so important that you absolutely HAVE to do it? The dishes will stay in the sink. The laundry will wait. The kids will not suffer any severe nutritional consequences if you let them eat ice cream for dinner. You can cancel your morning appointments. You can call in “sick” or skip out of work early. You could quit your job and find a new one. You could pack up and leave for the Bahamas tomorrow and never look back if you really wanted to. Life still goes on.

Our lives are filled with thousands of things we can do and choices for us to make each and every day. No one is standing there with a proverbial gun forcing you to to do anything. Doing (or not doing) things like chores or errands or going to work on time are not typically life and death stituations for most of us.

We spend so much time thinking about the things we “have to do” we get sidetracked from the good parts of life: enjoying a favorite hobby, visiting with an old friend, watching a sunset, fulfilling our dreams. Think of how many times you’ve thought to yourself “I wish I had more time for this” or “I would love to do this more or that more.” We blame everything and everyone else for why we can’t do the things we love. We convince ourselves that it’s everyone else’s fault our dreams and hopes and wishes never become a reality.

Ironically it’s NOT everyone else’s fault. We are ultimately the ones in control of what we do and don’t do. For some reason we create our own invisible expectations for ourselves. We become people pleasers. We feel guilty about doing the things we enjoy. And we inevitably miss out on the important things that actually make life worthwhile.

So next time you find yourself stressed out and overwhelmed by all the things you think you have to do, just remember: You don’t have to. You are in control of what you do and don’t do. As Damien would say take your troubles and Push them to the sidebar of life.