How do we keep ourselves happy and positive throughout the day? There are so many things that can weigh us down between class workload and personal struggles. I noticed that the happy, go-lucky self that I had been working on all summer was slowly fading as the past semester went on, and I didn't like it one bit. The progress I had made on my RBF and "positive vibes" was slowly deteriorating (along with my motivation) into a little ball of stress and mental breakdowns. So, I came up with a list of 5 goals to keep myself from thinking every day was a "bad day". I am continuing to look for more habits and ideas to change and add to the list, but for now, I am proud of the work I have done on reaching towards pure happiness and a love for life.
Give compliments to others
This may seem at first more draining then filling but it does help! Whether it's in person or on Instagram I challenged my self to give out 3, then 5, then 10 compliments a day until it simply became a habit. If I thought a girl's sweater was cute, I'd let her know as I passed her on the sidewalk. If I saw a cool picture on an acquaintance from high schools' Instagram, I'd leave some heart eyed emojis in the comments. Put out to the universe what you want to come back to you!
Smile even if it hurts
A smile seems to change my mood and my thoughts in a positive shift. Weird I know, but I found that if I forced myself to have even just the slightest smile on my face as I walked through campus to my next boring lecture I would arrive to class with more energy, more eagerness to learn and more motivation to actually pay attention.
Get the blood pumping and the booty bumpin'
We've heard it all our lives, "you should do 30 minutes of exercise every day." Apparently, they weren't lying! Not only is it good for your physical health, but it helps the mental health too. Thirty-minutes is really all you need. It doesn't need to be a hardcore CrossFit routine, just some stretching, and a light jog to get your blood flowing will do just fine. I personally like to do my light workout first thing in the morning before classes. It's motivation to get up and get my day started. Plus, I can't complain about the consequences of pushing myself to tone up. Summer body I'm on my way and hello self-confidence!
Surround yourself with those who uplift you
This might be obvious but the people in your life impact your life, a lot. I feel so beyond blessed to have the friends I have now and could go on about it for hours. Having people in your life who wholeheartedly want to see you achieve your top potential will only help you get there. Dependable, loving, friends will help you through the stormy days and bring light to your life in ways you can't bring yourself. Never in my life have I felt so loved and secure in my friendships, but it wasn't always this great. Letting go of toxic relationships is something I had to work really hard on in the past year. For some unknown reason I seem to love holding onto people who aren't good for me, and I know I'm not the only one. In realizing this bad habit and working on surrounding myself with people who love me I have in turn been learning to love myself as well. Self-love has brought me happiness I didn't know existed and I can't wait to see just how far this realization of self-worth will get me.
Just do your best, it doesn't have to be 100%
We often hold ourselves to very high standards, which is good. You should strive to do and be your best. But I think that sometimes were a little too hard on ourselves, we don't give us enough credit for the things we do. I personally often stress myself out more than necessary over trying to give my all to everything. I have only recently been allowing myself to relax. When you think "I can't", then do only what you can. For example, when you don't think you can make it to the gym for that 30-minute workout then take 10 minutes to do a little meditation at home, something is better than nothing. When you are not motivated to complete an assignment, pick the 3 easiest questions to answer, some points are better than none.
Yes, it would be better to do your best and fulfill each task to the highest standard but, SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING. Some may see it as "lazy" or that you're holding yourself to low standards, but I'd argue that it is simply a form of freeing your mind and giving yourself space for other thoughts. This mindset has given me the opportunity to have less stress and more happiness in each aspect of life. I do not recommend using this idea as a day-to-day way of thinking but simply when you feel overwhelmed and are ready to set your to-do list on fire, calm down and do what you can.
