Choose to Live

Aprevious article I wrote was about choosing to be happy. Today, I am writing about choosing to live. No, being alive doesn’t mean you are living. I believe some people may be alive and functioning, but they are not truly living. They are not living life to the fullest. I admit, I feel this way myself sometimes.

I do have up and down days when I think about whether I’m really living this life I’ve been blessed with to the fullest, or merely functioning on auto pilot. I would be willing to bet, since we are all more alike than we are different, that sometimes many of you may feel the same way. And that’s okay; it’s normal to feel this way at times.

Sadly, for some though, things go deeper. I say this because the number of people suffering from depression, anxiety, and many other mental health disorders has skyrocketed over the last 50 years or so.

I won’t delve into the numbers, but if you look them up yourself, you will find that mental health disorders these days are in pandemic numbers. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has only increased these numbers as well.

If you think about it, symptoms of depression and anxiety, etc. include feelings of fear, worry, and panic. All of these interfere with daily activities and living life to the fullest. The big question is “Why”? Why are there so many people suffering from mental health disorders?

Of course, I’m sure there are as many different opinions as there are experts on the topic. And of course, I’m no expert, but I do have an opinion. I believe there may be imbalances in people’s brains that they have no control over. I also believe that many times these imbalances are what I’ll call “self-induced.”

If you’ve ever read any self-improvement books or attended any self-improvement seminar, then most likely, power of the mind was mentioned. I am a firm believer in the power of the mind. I believe that many times we create our own problems by what we feed our minds.

I also believe that we create many of our problems by trying to create a life that we think shows the outside world that we are successful. It’s a ‘keeping up with the Jones” mentality, along with an instant gratification mentality. Basically, it’s a mind trap. We think that we need what everyone else has or every new gadget that comes on the market. As soon as we get it and the novelty of newness wears off, we are dissatisfied again and start thinking we need something new again.

We are stretching ourselves thin. We’re working long hours and sometimes two jobs to pay for the things we think we ‘need.’ Yet, at the same time, we are trying to squeeze family activities, our kids’ sports, and extracurricular activities into an already hectic day. Then we’re fussing and crying about how exhausted we are, yet we call this living. Is it really? No wonder so many people are anxious, depressed, and stressed.

My point is this, I understand mental health disorders are real and many people truly struggle with them. However, I feel it’s important for people to rationalize what is really at the core of any anxiety, depression or stress that they are feeling.

Why is it, with all the new technology and inventions of modern things to make our lives easier, that we are more and more people feeling anxious, stressed and depressed?

I’m not a doctor, scientist or statistician, so please don’t misinterpret my opinion as me stating a fact. I like to think of myself as a realist. Again, I understand that clinically diagnosed depression and anxiety, etc. is a serious issue these days.

The point I’m trying to make is that so often, we create many of our problems, issues, hardships, stresses, anxiety and more. We do it to ourselves. We put these burdens and expectations on our own shoulders.

Life is too short to be weighed down over the things we unnecessarily cause ourselves. Since there are enough things in life that we cannot control, we have to control the things we can, the things that affect our daily lives, the things that make us anxious or cause us stress.

I’ve wrote about change before and believe me, I totally understand how hard change is, but sometimes you have to face change head on, maybe even force it, if it will mean getting your life back and truly living. I’m sure most you have heard the saying or quote, “In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take.”

I love quotes. They are my inspiration. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc., once said, “If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do?” Life doesn’t have to be all stress and chaos. Make a change. Take a chance. Choose to live!

Renita Odstrcil is a licensed texas Realtor. She is a member of the National and texas Association of Realtors, and the local B/CS Association of Realtors.

ADVICE FOR ANYONE MOVING TO TEXAS

1. Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed later how to use it. 2. Just because you can drive on snow and ice does not mean we can. Just stay home the two days of the year it snows. 3. If you do run your car into a ditch, don’t panic. Four men in the cab of a four wheel drive and a tow chain will be along shortly. Don’t try to help them. Just stay out of their way. This is what they live for. 4. Don’t be surprised to find movie rentals & bait in the same store. 5. Remember: “Y’all” is singular. “All y’all” is plural. “All y’all’s” is plural possessive. 6. Get used to hearing “You ain’t from around here, are you?” 7. If you are yelling at the person driving 15 mph in a 55 mph zone, directly in the middle of the road, remember, many folks learned to drive on a model of vehicle known as John Deere, and this is the proper speed and lane position for that vehicle. 8. If you hear a redneck say, “Hey, y’all, watch this!” Stay out of his way, these are likely his last words ever. 9. Get used to the phrase “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity”. And the collateral phrase “You call this hot? Wait’ll August.” 10. There are no delis. Don’t ask. 11. In conversation, never put your hand on a man’s shoulder when making a point. 12. Chili does NOT have beans in it. 13. Brisket is not ‘cooked’ in an oven. 14. Don’t tell us how you did it up there. Nobody cares. 15. If you think it’s too hot, don’t worry. It’ll cool down-in December. 16. We do TOO have 4 Seasons: December, January, February, and Summer. 17. A Mercedes-Benz is not a status symbol, a Chevy, Dodge, or Ford is. 21. If someone says they’re “fixin” to do something, that doesn’t mean anything’s broken. 23. If you don’t understand our passion for college and high school football just keep your mouth shut. 24. The value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door, but the availability of shade. 26. BBQ is a food group. It does NOT mean grilling burgers and hot dogs outdoors. 27. No matter what you’ve seen on TV, line dancing is not a popular weekend pastime. 28. “Tea” = Sweet Iced Tea. There is no other kind. 29. Everything is better with Ranch dressing.

Only in America will we stop a football game, drag out measuring chains and look at a play 15 times from 6 different angles to make sure we make the right call, but won’t verify the integrity of an election of the highest office in our nation!