“Getting a reality check” is a phrase we use with a negative connotation. It suggests we’ve been avoiding an important truth, and it’s time to address it. We might be “taken down a peg,” a related phrase. Our boss might tell us we’re not doing as well as we think we are, or a friend reminds us that, actually, we have been neglecting them.
But most of the time, I believe, most of us are doing better than we think. We’re giving ourselves less credit than we deserve, and our own minds bog us down with self-doubt much more frequently than they trip us up with unwarranted cockiness. At least lately, for me, that’s been the case. Even when I get outside confirmation I’m doing well, I don’t feel like it. My inner dialogue is worse than what’s going on outside.
Ergo: I need a reality check. And guess what works best? Going outside! To get out of my head, I can simply get out of my house. I walk around the block, to the bakery, or to the playground nearby. I breathe real air, smell real grass, and see real people. Even when the weather is bad, once I’m back home, the world inevitably looks a bit brighter.
Reality is the best reassurance—because no matter how much we chase our own tail in our minds, reality keeps going. Many problems we perceive don’t exist, and the ones that do rarely need solving right now or all at once. Overwhelm, self-doubt, anxiety—there’s little the right kind of reality check can’t soothe.
Step outside and see the world, if only to see yourself in a different light after your return.
