When Life Feels Heavy, Take a Lighter Approach

Playfulness is good for both body and the soul. Biba Kayewich

Let’s start with a true story of two perspectives. Yesterday morning I stopped by my go-to coffee shop to get my chai latte. I asked the 30-something barista how she was doing and got more than I expected.

“Honestly, my life is pretty lousy right now,” she said. “My kids are annoying, I can’t sleep most nights, and my ex is driving me crazy. I did get a promotion, but it’s turning out to be more hassle than it’s worth. Sometimes it just seems like the universe is out to get me.”

That was a lot of venting packed into a few sentences.

Later that day, I called to check in with my 74-year-old friend Bob. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease four years ago and is now struggling with daily tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Two years ago, his wife of 45 years passed away, leaving Bob alone and lonely. Plus, he lives on his modest Social Security checks, making each month a penny-pinching challenge.

But when I asked Bob how he was doing, he replied with his usual answer: “I’m grateful!”

He went on to say, “I’ve got my problems, for sure, but I wake up every morning quoting Scripture: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.’ I’m always on the lookout for blessings, big and small. Life is heavy, but my spirit is light.”

Who would you want to spend time with—Bob or the barista? And which person do you think lives with more contentment, resilience, and joy?

Life has a way of presenting challenges that feel overwhelming, leaving us carrying a weight that seems impossible to set down. In those moments, cultivating a lighter attitude and outlook can help us navigate burdens with grace, rediscover joy, and find moments of peace amid the chaos.

Benefits of a Bright Outlook

Playfulness is good for both body and the soul. Biba Kayewich

Taking a lighter approach when life feels heavy doesn’t mean avoiding challenges or ignoring responsibilities. It’s about shifting your mindset and embracing humor, balance, and gratitude.

Life’s challenges—from minor headaches to major heartaches—can feel like insurmountable mountains. But developing a lighter, brighter approach to life has profound benefits that extend beyond mental well-being—it can transform your mental clarity, emotional resilience, and even physical health.

A report by the National Institutes of Health states, “Research has found a link between an upbeat mental state and improved health, including lower blood pressure, reduced risk for heart disease, healthier weight, better blood sugar levels, and longer life.” Benefits of a positive attitude include:

Improved Mental Health

Positivity reduces rumination—the habit of replaying negative events in our minds. This allows the brain to focus on productive thoughts and opportunities. People with a positive mindset often demonstrate greater problem-solving skills and adaptability during tough times.

Positive individuals often engage in proactive coping strategies, such as reframing negative thoughts and focusing on solutions. That’s important since chronic stress can be mentally exhausting and lead to a host of mental health issues.

What’s more, positivity rewires the brain to seek out joy in everyday life. Neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to change and adapt—means that regularly practicing optimism strengthens neural pathways associated with happiness, making it easier to maintain a positive outlook over time.

Enhanced Emotional Health

Positivity nurtures emotional resilience by instilling hope and a belief in your ability to overcome challenges. It shifts your focus from “What have I lost?” to “What can I still create or cherish?”

Positive individuals tend to recover from emotional setbacks more quickly. This mindset encourages self-compassion and helps combat feelings of guilt, shame, or despair often associated with grief or hardships.

Positivity also creates balanced emotional responses, reducing the tendency to react impulsively or disproportionately to difficult situations. By maintaining a lighter perspective, you are better able to respond thoughtfully, fostering a sense of peace even in turbulent circumstances.

Better Physical Health

Positive thinking reduces the production of stress hormones such as cortisol, which can wreak havoc on the body when elevated over time. Research shows that upbeat individuals have stronger immune responses, which helps to fend off an array of ailments. Conversely, chronic stress and worry weaken the immune system, making you more susceptible to illness.

Your attitude also dramatically affects your cardiovascular health. A lighter outlook reduces blood pressure and decreases the risk of heart-related conditions. Researchers at Johns Hopkins reported, “People with a family history of heart disease who also had a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within five to 25 years than those with a more negative outlook.”

Shift From Negative to Positive

No one’s disposition and temperament are set in stone, meaning everyone can grow and develop in many ways. That includes the ability to enjoy a positive outlook on life. Start with these steps forward:

Embrace Humor and Playfulness

One of the most effective ways to take a lighter approach in heavy times is to embrace humor. Laughter has an incredible way of diffusing tension, minimizing stress, and shifting our focus away from problems. It offers a momentary escape from the intensity of life and can help us regain perspective. Even in difficult moments, finding something to smile or laugh about can be a reminder that life is not all hardship.

Humor doesn’t trivialize serious situations; rather, it helps us approach them with a mindset that’s not weighed down by fear or anxiety. Playfulness, whether it’s engaging in a lighthearted activity or simply taking a more relaxed attitude toward small frustrations, allows us to see challenges through a new lens. It invites us to think more creatively and approach problems with a sense of curiosity instead of dread. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, take five minutes to watch a funny video, play with a pet, or share a moment of laughter with a friend or colleague.

Shift Your Perspective

Sometimes, when life feels heavy, it’s because we’re carrying unnecessary burdens—expectations, assumptions, and pressures that we’ve placed on ourselves. Taking a lighter approach involves letting go of the need for perfection and acknowledging that it’s OK not to have everything under control. It’s about recognizing that life is full of ups and downs, and that it’s unrealistic to expect things to go perfectly all the time.

A powerful strategy for shifting your perspective is to practice reframing. Instead of focusing on what’s going wrong, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” or “How can this challenge help me grow?” This mindset shift can make even the toughest situations feel less like a burden and more like an opportunity. It allows you to see setbacks not as failures, but as temporary obstacles you can overcome with patience and perseverance.

Practice Mindfulness and Presence

One of the key reasons life can feel heavy is because we get caught up in future worries or past regrets. Mindfulness—being fully present in the moment—can help break this cycle. By focusing on the present, we reduce the mental clutter of worrying about things we can’t control. Mindfulness allows us to engage with what is happening right now, making life’s challenges feel less overwhelming and more manageable.

Take a moment to pause and breathe. Notice your surroundings, the sounds, and the sensations in your body. By anchoring yourself in the present, you may find that the heaviness begins to lift, even if only slightly. The weight of tomorrow’s worries no longer dominates your thoughts, and you can focus on what you can do today.

Let Go of Control

A significant part of feeling overwhelmed often comes from the desire to control outcomes. We want to ensure that everything goes according to plan. When it doesn’t, we feel like we’ve failed. But life is unpredictable, and trying to control everything can be a futile and exhausting effort.

Taking a lighter approach means letting go of the need for total control. This doesn’t mean giving up or being careless, but it involves having faith that things will work out in the end. By releasing the need to manage every detail, you free up mental space and emotional energy to focus on what truly matters.

When faced with a situation that feels out of control, ask yourself, “What can I influence, and what can I release?” Allow yourself to surrender to the unknown and trust that, in time, things will unfold as they should.

Cultivate Gratitude and Joy

Gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to lighten your emotional load. When life feels overwhelming, it’s easy to focus on what’s going wrong or what’s missing. But taking a moment to acknowledge what’s going right can shift your perspective and help you see that not everything is as heavy as it seems.

Intentionally practicing thankfulness reminds you that even in the midst of hardship, there are still things to be thankful for—small blessings that can bring light into dark moments. Make it a habit to write down or reflect on a few things you’re grateful for each day. Even on the toughest days, this practice can bring a sense of peace and lightness.