I was recently sent a meme by a friend that said,
“I’m giving up drinking for a month. Sorry bad punctuation. I’m giving up. Drinking for a month.”
Ah the difference punctuation makes.
It is meant to be funny. However, in terms of mental health, it couldn’t be more serious.
Details impact your mental and emotional wellness. One little thing changes how you view your life. Pay attention to them.
The big things; trauma, tragedy, loss, grief, and life transitions knock your life out of balance. You easily notice those things because they are obvious. But what about the small things? The punctuation of life we miss daily?
- Being around negative people, social media, or media in general.
- Over apologizing.
- Not setting adequate boundaries with people.
- The parent or coach you could never please.
- Being told you ask too many questions or over think things.
- Never reaching perfection or ideals.
- Constantly comparing yourself to others.
- Being afraid to fail.
- Condescension from loved ones.
- Allowing others to treat us badly.
- Not granting things we take for granted.
Small things damage your self-esteem, self-efficacy, best self, integration, congruence, and emotional balance. The damage affects us even more than the big things that are more obvious. We are exposed to these little things daily and become conditioned to them. As a result, we rarely comprehend how they affect our mental and emotional state, as well as our relationships.
You miss them and details change how you interpret your life’s sentences. In fact, they rewrite your life’s paragraphs and chapters. It changes the very meaning of your entire life’s book.
Details seem small, but they make a big difference. Just like punctuation. Mind them. Your life depends on it.