Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Yesterday was a very stressful day.

Newton was sick and I couldn't be home to care for him because, obviously, I have to work.

I checked my email in the morning and saw no new messages. Two hours later, I checked again, and studdenly there were messages from Law Review and from Professor DiSalvo, both notifying me of assignments that are due BEFORE school starts.

I had an email from Career Services talking about job applications- the first round of which are due the 16th (if I need to apply for a new job).

I suddenly realized that if I would need to apply for a job, I would need a transcript. You can't get a transcript with a hold on your account. I have a hold on my account until my student loans come in. Student loans don't come in until the first week of classes (after job applications are due). (I did find out from Career Services that I can use my unofficial transcript from MIX, so if anyone else is having this same problem, don't panic the way I did.)

Meanwhile, I was working on a section of a motion for summary judgment that was due by the end of the day.

Later on, I went to dinner with some coworkers and tried desperately to relax. Two sangrias and a wonderful Vandalia pizza later, I was still wound up. I called John on the way home, talking a mile a minute, virtually panicking.

He listened to me and tried to be calming, and I felt better once I got off the phone. Later that night I texted him to tell him I was going to sleep, and he said goodnight, and also, "Don't sweat the small stuff."

My immediate reaction was BUT THIS ISN'T SMALL STUFF, IT'S SCHOOL AND WORK AND ALL OF THIS IS IMPORTANT AND BIG! Luckily I didn't say any of this, because later on I began to think about what really is "small stuff" and to think about what is worth worrying over.

I remembered reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, a WONDERFUL book that I would say is a must-read for pretty much anyone. He discusses worry and talks about the unproductiveness of it. Thinking about this, I began to realize that even though the things I was worried about were important to me, they were not worth worrying over the entire day. Other than the motion for summary judgment (which I finished), there wasn't a thing I could do about any one of the other things while I was at work.

The homework and other due dates could be dealt with when the time came. The key is that the time was not yesterday. All of those things were "small stuff" in the sense that they were remote.

I'm writing all of this down because I want to keep it in the forefront of my mind when I begin to worry about things I cannot change or deal with. Worry just impairs what you're doing in the present. I think dealing with worry involves a combination of acceptance and prioritization. This is something I need to focus on, especially throughout the next semester, which will probably be the busiest of my life.