With the fast-paced lifestyle we all struggle to maintain, it becomes hard to not get caught up in one's own life stressors. Many individuals lack the basic capability of genuinely making more time for themselves which results in other people, places, and things directing and controlling their life.

I have found that a key solution to avoid this and achieve an overall healthy lifestyle is simply by spending more time with yourself.

"Why would I spend more time with myself? I feel lonely enough as it is…" Because, trust me.

WARNING: Spending more time with oneself may result in the following side effects (including but not limited to)-

• Longevity of life
• Finding what makes you happy
• Becoming more independent
• An extreme decrease in stress
• Learning what you love about yourself
• Overall contentment (yes, seriously)

It is so unbelievably important to get to know yourself on that personal level and the only way to really do so is by setting time aside, solely for that purpose. It all starts by finding your happy place.

No, you do not have to have a vacation home to have one but you may be asking, 'what is a happy place?'

While writing this, I thought about how I would personally define this term and immediately let my mind jump to the easiest possible answer: my river house on the Pungo Creek… duh. But once I thought more about it, I started to realize what it actually means to me and the lines became more and more blurred. Why limit my happy place to just one specific area where I've had memorable times? Does that mean I'm predominately limiting my brain's happiness to that one place? Why in the hell would I do that?

Some can find their happy place lost in a book, while others find it sitting in a church pew; but it could also be the feeling you get after you've accomplished something great... you have to find out what works for you. My happy place is when I am completely and totally content with myself and my situation because of my own inner peace of mind, despite any outside forces that may try to threaten that.

You do not necessarily have to be able to see, hear, or even touch a "happy place." It could be a moment, memory, random act of kindness, just a few seconds, or so much more. Yes, maybe you normally do find your happy place in a main geological area, but it's not the actual place itself that you should be focusing on- it's your state of mind.

This is the reason why you have at least once heard the saying "go to your happy place." This special state of mind is a significant skill for one to master in order to balance your life.

I challenge everyone to NOT think in lines, or in terms of black and white. Take some time to yourself and you just may find that a simple coined phrase or easily answerable question could become your own remarkable creation.