This week, I’ve started going to the gym in the morning. Let me be clear: I am not a morning person. My mama put me in the afternoon session of half-day Kindergarten for this very reason, and until I went to college, I was notorious for sleeping in until 2 p.m. on weekends. But this one little action has truly triggered something special. I know, “Folks go to the gym at 6 a.m. one time and don’t know how to act!” But no, I’m serious.
Like most of us, I’m sure, my anxiety has been running rampant lately. Every day brings a new headline, seemingly worse than the one before. Add in the fact that I’m 23 years old—which, according to whom you ask is the best, weirdest or worst age—and it feels like the world is spiraling, and I’m going right with it—but recently, I had a revelation.
You won’t find this anywhere else.
Get exclusive stories that look at context and solutions to systemic issues for Mississippi and the nation with these FREE daily newsletters.
On the first day of my morning gym antics, I was met with a barrage of thoughts that were completely irrelevant to the two miles I was about to run. I started thinking about what I’m going to be doing five years from now; how I need to call the repair guy to fix my dryer; that I planned to invest more money in my brokerage account that morning; how that account could plummet (it actually went up, haha); and about what I would do if I didn’t have enough time to finish my workout, eat breakfast, do my morning devotional, and be at work on time, causing my entire life to just fall apart right now.
Practicing mindfulness, gratitude and journaling can be great ways to relieve anxiety, Kiden-Aloyse Smith finds. Photo by Sixteen Miles Out for Unsplash ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bible_and_notepad_cred_Sixteen-Miles-Out_for_Unsplash.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bible_and_notepad_cred_Sixteen-Miles-Out_for_Unsplash.jpg?fit=682%2C1024&ssl=1″ onerror=”if (typeof newspackHandleImageError === ‘function’) newspackHandleImageError(this);” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bible_and_notepad_cred_Sixteen-Miles-Out_for_Unsplash.jpg?resize=682%2C1024&ssl=1″ alt=”A warm photo of
Read original article by clicking here.