6 Signs You Need To Make Yourself A Priority Again

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Recently, life has gotten to the point where I can barely recover from one crappy thing before being bombarded with the next. Since I am the type of person that says, “I think the universe is giving me a sign,” as I thoughtfully (and comically) look off into the distance, these types of events do not go unnoticed.

After weeks of saying, “Things are definitely going to start looking up soon,” I have gotten tired of waiting for my fate to change on its own. This got me thinking about signs that demonstrate that you need to take charge and make things change.

1. You are surrounded by people that drain your energy.

If you are having a bad day and realize that there is no one to turn to, odds are that you don’t have any positive people in your life. You may think that you do not need to be surrounded by positivity, and that’s what I thought too. That’s what I thought until the behavior of those around me started to get worse. I started to get pulled into the negative spiral that these people were in. They started to treat me like my feelings were insignificant and like I did not deserve respect. That is when I realized that if I want to live a positive life, I couldn’t keep fooling myself about the people around me. Sometimes a selfish person is just that and there is no way around it.

2. The little things begin to grow.

Starting to stress out about things that you would not have stressed out about before is a sure sign that something deeper is at work here. When we are not in a happy place in our lives, it tends to seep out of us and cause little problems to grow. If you notice yourself freaking out because your hairbrush fell off of your bathroom sink and in to the garbage can (I can neither confirm, nor deny, that this has happened to me), then maybe it’s time to make some changes. Maybe it’s time to focus on the elephant in the room, instead of the mouse (unless there is an actual infestation. Then, you should probably take care of that).

3. There is no time for “Me Time”.

If your work is all-encompassing to the point where you have no time to take care of yourself, its time to move on. After years of sacrificing my happiness, and even health, for the tasks in front of me, I can safely say that things were not ideal. I should have moved on, but I was afraid to. I was afraid because I was not sure what the future would bring. But, at that point, anything is better than being in a situation that sucks the life out of you. Anything is better than a toxic situation.

4. Everything is coming at you at once.

Sometimes, in life, a lot of things tend to come at us like cars in the fast lane. This is normal. After all, no one said that life is easy. (Although, wouldn’t it be great if it was? Seriously.) What is not normal is if this situation continues on for a significant period of time. If you find that “So many things are coming at me at once, all the time,” you can probably translate that to mean “I am not in a good place right now and I need to make some positive changes.”

5. You have no time to recharge.

Sleep is important. It allows us to escape from anything that caused us pain during the day. Personally, I believe that sleep is directly tied to what is happening in our daily lives. For instance, if you have a calm day, you are probably going to have a calm sleep. If your adrenaline is pumping from 9 to 5, then you might be more energized (or worn out, depending on your stamina) by the time you hit the hay. That is why I believe that if you cannot sleep, that is your body’s way of telling you that something is not okay. Basically, your body is telling you to get your shit together.

6. You’ve suddenly become a barnacle on someone’s side.

If you notice that your call log has the same person’s name in it, over and over again, within the span of a few hours, then you are probably becoming dependent. We tend to become dependent when we are unable to procure happiness in our own lives. As a result, we depend on someone else to lift our spirits. We may depend on this person to the point where, if we do not hear their voice, we may feel alone or become afraid. This is never a good thing, for you, your phone buddy, or your phone bill.

After noticing some of these signs in your life, the question is: What do I need to change? In order to figure this out, take some time to let your mind wander. See what your mind keeps going back to. If you keep thinking about work, maybe your job is too demanding. If you keep thinking about your best friend, maybe she has become a not-so-great influence in your life. If you keep thinking about your financial situation, maybe you need to come up with a budget.

If something in your life is having a negative influence on you, chances are that it is on your mind. You just have to let your mind show you where your problem areas lie. Then, do whatever it takes to make the situation better. After all, life is not going to get better while we walk around like zombies and stew in our own despair.