Before you continue reading this, you have to follow my instructions. If you can, then close your eyes for a minute. Breathe about five times. Spare yourself to feel your whole body, mind, and soul breathing for air. Breathing to breathe. Read the following words: ”Am I okay? Don’t I feel tired or slowly losing the means to continue? ”

Have you ever stopped what you were doing and just stared out across space? Your eyes have started to droop, you have no strength left in your body, and it's getting harder to breathe. Inaudible voices were pushed to your ears, only to be left untouched by the brain. You were tired, simply tired. Nothing more and nothing less. You have the urge to give up. You have the urge to sleep and completely forget about the world. You wanted to fall into an endless cycle where you won’t feel hurt – where you can’t feel pain. You feel yourself slowly falling and falling and falling with no end.

1. Breathe

If you are observant while reading this, you might be able to notice how I used the word “breathe” numerous times. It was because when you fall, you forget to breathe. You forget to simply gather oxygen for yourself and release it. You won’t even allow yourself to take a second to collect some air and throw it into your lungs. You are stubborn, too stubborn to take a break. What? Do you have a lot of things to do? You don’t have enough time to rest? Not even 5 minutes? Not even a minute? A second? The first step is merely asking you to breathe. People forget that we tend to lose our rationale if we don’t breathe. Because if you don’t, you won't be able to continue.

2. Think

Didn’t you notice? The few times when you breathe, you can feel sensitive. You felt your surroundings and your own body. You were able to concentrate on something willingly. It was because you relaxed. Your body releases a myriad of emotions as you breathe, giving you the chance to see something you didn’t see. I know that we all have problems in life, and we both have unique ways of facing them and different levels of varying emotions we feel. However, I saw this on the Internet: How to deal with difficult situations in life? First, divide the things/thoughts on your mind into what you can and cannot control. Now, what remains are the things you can control. Focus on it. Give everything you’ve got to finish it. Don't worry about the problems you can't solve; instead, concentrate on the ones you can.

3. Reflect

As you breathe to relax and think to remove the temporary blindness caused by problems, you now have the time to reflect. What to reflect on? Well, your past mistakes, your past decisions, and the path you chose to take. Don’t think about "what-if’s" to reduce stress. Now, as you reflect, you see the root of the problem. You turn back time to see where things have gone wrong. In that way, you would be able to gradually change yourself. Change is inevitable but slow. Overused line: "You can’t change overnight." You really can’t. However, you have now given yourself the chance to reflect and an even greater opportunity to change for the better.

4. Accept

For all the steps I’ll share, I think this one is the hardest. You shouldn't lie. It is really hard to accept your faults. That is why we call them "mistakes." But do you know the other reason why it is called a mistake? It is because we learn from it. In a situation wherein you make a mistake, you choose to avoid doing it again. Not to make the same mistake twice. We are already in the fourth step before you decide to fall. You are already breathing normally, thinking about what you can do and what you did wrong. The only thing you can do before everything is just to accept it. Forgiving is not only for others but also for yourself, the one whom you should love the most. Acceptance is a means of forgiving your past self, who has committed wrongdoings.

5. Learn

The last step is that you learn after experiencing everything. Experience is the best teacher. I know it is an overused line, but it states a powerful truth that you cannot ignore. In this time where people are covered by masks, not just by the pandemic, it’s important to experience something. If you don’t know how to fall, how can you ever fly? But I didn’t tell you to always choose to fall just to fly. Your wings are already there, just waiting for you to use them. To be covered by glistening colors from your trophies in life, a painful scar or not. In the end, you learned how to realize you are important. Or perhaps, how rare and precious a worthy person is. If you don’t think of yourself as worthy of every happiness and pain, who will?

Now, whenever you feel you’re nearing the breakdown stage, just remember these steps. Let yourself breathe to think calmly and see the reflection of your past to accept who you are today and learn how to share it with everyone. You are you, remember that. Use your wings to fly high in the sky and feel the freshness of freedom and, of course, peace.