While negative feelings are almost universally assumed to be a bad thing, it is important to realize that at least sometimes, they come as we begin to realize just how important so many things in life are. For example, a person who begins to understand the true urgency of every moment will necessarily see every moment as extremely important. This is not a mental deficit, but a boon of honesty, requiring an additional increment of intensity in what you do and why you do it.
Whether through lack of diligence in ascertaining priority, lack of discipline in focusing on what is most important, or lack of awareness of the possibility and importance of doing so, whenever we feel bad, there is usually something more we can do.
Negative feelings are frequently interpreted as a signal that we have too much to do, or that what we have to do is too difficult, but the truth is that negative feelings often actually come as a result of our failure to do all we can.
The best way to accept how things are is to try to change them with all your might. If you don’t yet feel peace about a situation, it indicates you don’t yet believe you’ve done all you can about it. Until you feel at peace about something, you should keep asking what more you can do about it, and doing the most important of the things you enumerate. Even if you fail in your attempt, you will feel peace about the situation until and unless you gain greater capacity at a later date to try again. Instead, most people feign attempts at what they want while reserving the needed intensity, securing for themselves the ability to hold on to what they would have proven beyond their reach if they went all out. They don’t seem to understand that in doing so, they both rob themselves of what they say they want—as they aren’t doing what it takes to get it—and what they actually want—as they aren’t pursuing it at all while distracted with the half-hearted attempts at something else.
It’s not enough to have a plan, you really have to live it with your full being. You can't have enduring peace while you are failing to live up to what you believe is best.