The Importance of “Just Because”

Why don’t you want to go out? Why did you go out? Why are you going to bed already? Why don’t you want to go to the gym? Why do you not like *insert literally anything*? 

Why, why, why, why. 

Just because. 

I know I am not the only one that feels as though I always need a “good” answer when I am asked “why?”. I feel as though I need an explanation for every yes or no I give someone, even if I don’t feel like I truly have one. When making decisions or deciding between choices, I immediately think of the reasoning behind each one, and let me tell you, it gets exhausting. Why should I always have an answer to the question “why?”. The answer is that I don’t have to, and you don’t either.  

It may seem odd, but I have been working towards giving fewer explanations. I have been working on learning how to be more comfortable with simply saying “just because”. We have so many things in life that require explanations, whether we are explaining them internally to ourselves, or externally to others. Why not give ourselves some grace and allow ourselves to do things without any reasoning behind them at all.  

I am finding the power, beauty, and importance in this simple phrase, “just because”. When you sit back and truly think about it, isn’t it an amazing privilege to have the ability and opportunity to do things with no explanation?  

I can take myself out on a date, just because. I can sit on the couch all day and binge-watch true crime documentaries, just because. I can buy my best friend flowers, just because. I can call my mom and dad, just because. I can feel confident, just because.  

This change in mindset goes beyond just giving my brain a break, it also helps me to appreciate how life can be simple when we allow it to be. As a chronic over thinker, I have found that capitalizing on areas in my life where I do not have to think can be so rewarding for my mental health. It allows me to take off any additional weight I am putting on my own shoulders.  

In the grand scheme of things, what you choose to do for yourself or for others will not matter in the end, but they may help you find comfort in the now. So, to the person reading this, the point of this writing is not to tell you to take my advice, but instead, to feel as though you can or cannot take my advice with no explanation as to why you chose one over the other.  

I did not write this article to influence anyone, I wrote it just because. And that is enough.  

• decisions
• growing up
• life
• mental health