5 Historical Quotes to Keep in Mind When You’re ‘Losing It’
The oldies figured life out way back in time to escape depression
Do you ever feel sad and then, if someone asks you what’s wrong, there is never one absolute reason that you can give for your rotten mood? When we are down, everything in life seems to be against us, trying to flatten us to the ground. We sometimes don’t even think of the fact that the point in life that we say is our lowest, that same point might be someone else’s success. Depression is all inside our minds and only we can bring ourselves out of that madhouse.
These are the 5 quotes that have enough punch to push us back to our life when we are hovering at the edge of insanity.
1. Accept the unpredictability of life
“If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
Life is the perfect mixture of ups and downs. The journey of life is epic. And each day is new and unknown. Imagine you are stuck in a life where you know what will happen each day, each minute, every day; like being stuck in one of Miss Peregrine’s time loops. Would that be any kind of life?
If you are down today, if today seems unbearable, then remember that the next day might not be. Life is like traveling a long, winding, mountain road; sometimes uphill, sometimes down. Going uphill is tough, thus we fear going backward. But sometimes, going a bit back to catch our breath, enjoy the moment- is not bad. If you feel struck down by the harsh unpredictability of life, learn from it; because that is the spice in life. Eleanor Roosevelt could never have known her parents would die so early, or how her life would turn out. Neither do we. All we can do is take each day at a time and remember a time when things were better; to believe that the silver lining is just around the corner.
Stop moping and stand back up. Maybe listen to some sad songs, indulge in that one food that seems the best among all, because life will go on without you, and later, you’ll regret it.
2. Make others happy even when you are not
“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” -Mother Teresa
Making someone else happy seems impossible if we don’t feel happy. When I myself am down by the weight of life, how can I help someone else? But this is like a finely printed paradox. If you get to look up from your own sadness and listen to someone else’s story, you often realize how much better off you are compared to a lot of others. Try and help them in any small way you can. We are not enough to erase all the sadness in the world, but we might be enough for one person at one time.
Researches prove that spending time to make someone else happy will in return decrease our chances of being depressed. So when you are feeling down, stop thinking about why you feel bad, or how the hell you came to this situation. Instead, pick up your life and do things you would normally do, then go on and help a friend out. Not spending money on yourself, buy gifts for your loved ones. See how their smile can make dark clouds flee from your mind. Then, maybe sit with them and talk about your problem over a cup of coffee. Mother Teresa’s life definitely wasn’t just smiles and roses. She stepped through so many roadblocks to help people. We can start by just one.
When we are sad, someone else’s happiness feels like salt on a raw wound. But for once, try the opposite. Help one person and make them happy. Then think about that positively: how you had a hand in solving their problem. Focus on that instead of the many ways you’ve failed. After that, start thinking of ways to dig yourself out of that hole. But if you just feel sorry for yourself, you’ll forever sit in the ditch you’ve dug, with no plan on how you can climb out.
3. Look for the silver lining
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” -Aristotle
Many times, our failure in one sector in life brings about failure in many others. That is because we lose our sight of where to go. It’s like swimming in the ocean during a storm and not knowing which way is up. Then we become more panicked and lose even the slight vision of the light.
I’ve seen my father come home from work many times with a foul mood. He’d then complain about work and would start to lose his temper with us, even though we were not at fault. So my brother and I always gave him a wide berth and still, to this day, my relationship with him is strained with formality.
We often don’t know how to cope with our problems when the answer is fairly easy. Communication. Instead of taking your anger out on someone else, talk it out. Find a companion in your melancholy. Stressed over a strict boss? Go ahead and cuss him out with your friend together, in the safety of your home. That way, your bond will become stronger and you will always have a way to find your way back up from the deep, dark hole.
4. Never give up
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” -Thomas A. Edison
Thomas Edison is probably the epitome of not giving up. He’d lived for 84 years and had accumulated 1093 patents, which is a record. He is also said to have been dyslexic and so had no formal education.
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
We often start something and that project never sees the light of day (too true for me) because we don’t have enough grit to carry it over many, many barriers. So, we just accept that we can’t and then feel depressed with how we’d wasted all that time for nothing. That mindset is fairly toxic. If you have already put in some work, what is wrong with sticking to it and seeing what happens to the end? If you start something, it deserves enough from you to stick to it up to the finish line. Imagine, all the works you have left halfway, maybe, what it needed was just one more day. But you will never know that now. Many of the failures in the world are just potential breakthroughs sitting neglected because we weren’t insightful enough to believe in them.
So, if you are frustrated with all the failed attempts, take a break to clear your mind. Go on a walk. Do something completely noncompetitive. Then come back with a fresh mind and new ideas. This can change your life if you just… hold on.
5. Accept that life will never be fair
“Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.” -Oscar Wilde
We can probably never count how many times we’ve cried and blamed life for being unfair. Yes. Life is unfair. Life will bestow on one while snatching from another. We can never rely on nature. But that is to our benefits too. When life showers us with its unfair kindness, we are not grateful, saying we deserve it. But we are also fast to curse at life when someone else is awarded.
We achieve things because we are worthy. Life is not fair, never will be. So this is our chance to give it all we’ve got to get to our goals. We are the master of our life. And when life does seem like a forgetful, long lost relative that never appreciates us for what we are deserving of, then move on. We are not born with everything so that we can build it for ourselves. So let’s pity the ones who have it all with no input from them and go on enjoying our unfair life.
What is life if not a place to live and love? And to make mistakes and to learn from them? Life is like an old guitar that never plays in tune. It is our duty to make work with that. When we are down, let’s accept it as a new place to learn so that we can stand back up with new armor and knowledge to take life head-on. That’s how legacies are written.