R U Okay?

Recently in Australia it was ‘R U Okay?’ Day. A day founded by Gavin Larkin in 2009, to spark and encourage a meaningful conversation as a form of suicide prevention. Although the idea of the day may sound simplistic and ideal, it can be a conversation that can open doors and encourage people who 'are not okay’ to speak up and get help.

Like many other people all over the world, I have my down days where I am not okay. On those days I feel sad, insecure and sometimes have no idea why. I feel down on myself and wonder WTF I am doing with my life, in which direction my life choices taking me; if this where I want to be and am I even happy?

It’s fairly normal as human beings to go through an emotional rollercoaster and to be blatantly honest, if our lives always came up all happy, bubbly and full of contentment; how boring would life be! We need to be challenged, because if we aren’t challenged, we don’t grow. We don’t gain strength and we become forever stagnant.

Day One (of four) of the Inca Trek to Machu Picchu, Peru

That is why whenever I’m feeling down, I try to reflect on my life, accomplishments and recognise how far I’ve come. It may sound pretentious but some of the best life advice I’ve ever received came accidentally from my Peruvian tour guide, Diana. While we were doing the Inca trek to Machu Picchu, I kept noticing her stopping in her tracks to look around, smile and sometimes close her eyes to feel the breeze. She’d always do this every so often and stop for about five minutes at a time. I asked her why, as I was curious why she wasn’t competing to get to our next meeting point like the rest of us. She said ‘Firstly it isn’t a competition and I like to take my time, stop, take a moment to see how far I’ve come and enjoy the moment. It’s not everyday like these moments where you can actually see how far you’ve come”, she then pointed in the far distance to show me where yesterday’s starting point was, smiled and asked ‘how amazing does that feel, Leah?’

Day Four of the Inca Trek with Machu Picchu in the background

… It felt pretty amazing. Unfortunately in life, we don’t always get the opportunity to see how far we have come visually, but it is always important to recognise you’re achievements even when your negative emotions may impair your vision and accomplishments.

I may not know you as my readers, but I can guarantee that you are more than likely an awesome human being that has achieved so much in your own rights. If you are not feeling okay right now, I encourage you in your positive moments of happiness to write down all your accomplishments, everything you are proud of achieving; collect photographs that make you warm your heart and spark happy memories. Once you have done so, put it up somewhere you can see it, like on a wall. Or if you don’t feel comfortable having it on display for all to see, then put it in a box and remind yourself to look at it when you’re feeling down as a reminder that you have accomplished so much and have many things to be proud of.

Also remember, there is always someone out there who cares deeply about you. So if you ‘are not okay’, speak up.

#BeyoncéWouldBeProud