With the recent purchase of our first home, it's fair to say that the past month has been an especially good one for me. As someone who tries her best to live a positive, healthy
life, I'm also the first to admit that attitude matters and that negativity really
doesn’t get me anywhere. That said, there are definitely times when I will, without
any added guilt, allow myself to feel sad, angry or just generally unhappy.
One of the many reasons I think people suffer in silence when feeling sad or depressed is because there’s
a social stigma associated with being unhappy and admitting that we don’t all
have the picture perfect lives we believe we’re supposed to. Instead of showing
the world our true selves, we portray ideal versions of our careers, homes, relationships and more via social media, succumbing to the pressure to be happy
and positive at all times, believing that if we aren’t able to do it all and
have it all, we have hopelessly failed.
Honestly, I do this, too, trying not to talk too much about
the bad experiences and challenges, even though, really, the past few years
have been a mixed bag for me, bringing both some of the best and hardest days of my life. And isn’t that the way life usually is, a series of
ups and downs, good times and bad times?
In certain ways, my life today is better than I ever imagined
it could be. In others, it isn’t. And that’s OK. I’ll keep finding the answers, being positive
when I can, allowing myself to work through negative emotions when I need to,
and knowing that in the end, it’s all a part of this crazy, wild adventure we
share.
Do you ever feel pressured to be positive no matter what or
to portray a "perfect" life?