Loosen up to speed up 🚤
“You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” – Walter Hagen
There used to be a TV show on Turkish television hosted by a psychologist. The name of the show was “They Are All Little Things.”
When we think about our overall mood and its quality, we often realize that most of the things we make a fuss about are, in fact, small stuff.
It’s true that we may go through tough times, but over the course of a lifetime, the things that bring us down day in and day out are often the result of sweating the small stuff.
We complain about our neighbors, the traffic, our car, the crowded public transportation, the long queues at the airport, the hot weather, getting bored, not having enough surprises in life—and the list goes on. If you made a list on any given day, you’d likely find that many of the things pulling your mood down are actually small things.
By now, we all know that our bodies get sick due to long-term stress. Illnesses like cancer, high blood pressure, or stress-related disorders don’t show up overnight. They are, in fact, the result of small stressors silently accumulating in our system over time. All those angry emails exchanged with a coworker? They’re like cancerous cells slowly building up in our body. The frustration we dwell on while stuck in traffic? That’s what gradually weakens our body’s ability to regulate blood pressure.
The same pattern applies to our journey toward our big visions. It usually starts with small things that don’t go our way—and we make a big deal out of them. As our focus stays fixed on these negative details, they grow larger, disrupting our positive momentum. Eventually, we conclude that what we want isn’t happening.
My recent favorite mantra is: “There is nothing serious going on here.”
That doesn’t mean I stop asking for improvements or striving for more. But remembering that nothing is actually that serious—and that most things are, indeed, small things—helps me loosen up. As a result, I move faster toward a better future and a more aligned, more enjoyable journey.
As always,
Much love
Begum 💛
