Your Release (From Stress)

A release from the stress of adulthood, whatever you might consider that. Far too often (I originally typed that out as fart… it’s okay to laugh about it. We’re only human… whatever that means), we become stuck in the mundane monotony of 21st century living. Our fingers are more familiar with touch screens than touching other skin, our vision deteriorates from staring at screens, 95% of our income is locked to auto-pay for bills, and we look forward to… nothing. We’ve found a way to allocate 23.9 hours of the day to what we need to do to stay afloat.

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That leaves us 0.1 hours (an exaggeration for good reason, to make a point) to do something, anything, to make us feel better about the non-stop effort to live. We find something that we enjoy and far too often, we find ourselves being criticized for that choice we make in this critical world. If you’re trying to avoid stress, playing video games online and being badgered for “not being good enough” (that’s about the nicest and least crude criticism you’ll hear online) might not exactly provide the escape you’re looking for here. 

Who cares, right? I know it’s hard to ignore all of those voices, whether they’re spoken or through text, but we all need to recognize that when it comes to this decision (which I’m encouraging is not going to harm anyone, yourself included), it is about you and no one else. Find your release from stress and enjoy it wholeheartedly for that small amount of time that your hardworking self can find for it. If it helps you feel better about doing whatever you want to find some time to yourself, here is an example of what I enjoy doing. 

Magic the Gathering. I was originally going to write this about Destiny (and show off some stats from good games… there are more bad games) but I decided to go with something that most would consider even more ridiculous for a professional adult to spend money on and waste time with. I took these recently and while I might not play all the time, this is an example of something that I’ve held onto for over 20 years to provide a little escape every so often. Do people laugh when I tell them I still play and collect these? Absolutely, but I don’t let it bother me.

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That’s the main point we’re trying to get across. You’re criticized so often for everything you do. The bank gives you a hard time for your ability to pay bills on time and maintain a positive balance. Your boss at work critiques every single move you make (or don’t make) and even the barista at Starbucks rolls their eyes when you mess up your order. Let your release, whatever it may be, be that one point in time where you just don’t listen to (or care) about someone else’s criticism. Because being you, and loving who you are, is a key to being hungry and fit!  

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