Escape From Joy
Updated: Mar 9, 2022
Written by: Shelli Netko, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Have you noticed that many people seem to be trying to escape from life lately? Familiar scenes include obsession with social media, drowning in cocktails or binging on junk food and Netflix night after night. This is not living, it is escaping, and choosing to escape is choosing to miss out on life.
Those who “major in the minor stuff,” tend to focus on what is going wrong instead of what is going right and it becomes a habit and a way of life. Escaping can lead to missing out on the joy that’s right in front of them, causing them to become so disconnected that they don’t even notice because it sneaks up slowly, just like the last 10 Birthdays.
People who find themselves on this road are always surprised at some point. One day they are settling in on the patio on a Friday night with a group of friends, and the next minute the kids are in high school, and the walls are talking to them.
Feeling a need to escape stress is an indicator that it is not what we need to escape, but how we respond to circumstances that make us feel that way. Stress comes from making things more important than they are and allowing the emotional response to have power over what you do with your day.
Research says that human relationships and touch have been proven to do everything from improve the immune system, increase oxytocin, reduce anxiety, lower cortisol and improve our sense of wellbeing.
I believe our goal in life is to operate a lot like your car's gas tank - live full, die empty. And the best way to achieve this is to take it one day at a time, go into each day with a plan to look for the good. Tackle the stress with the mindset that you cannot control the circumstances, only your response. If your quality of life is going to be determined by the quality of your emotional state, stop escaping. Choose to live in the present and eliminate the potential for future regret.
Shelli Netko, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Shelli Netko is a Life Coach helping people create change in their lives, relationships, wellness, and self-love. She is a pro-aging enthusiast whose insight helps promote health and fitness as a way of life. With a combined 15 years of career, relationship and life coaching, and business consulting, she has an insatiable desire to help people become their best, pursue growth and achieve success. Shelli is the co-host of The "Mental Knot with Scott Freymuller" podcast and YouTube program, focusing on improving mental health by bringing awareness to the impact of trauma as it affects relationships. She is the author of the children's emotional healing book series, "Heart to Heart Collection," and an Executive Contributor to Brainz Magazine.
