weird things that helped me

I had a rough patch for the last few months of not posting but honestly, I have found so much joy in being alone and just being me. I had a long summer of straight working and lack of sleep and a lot of exercise. But I found joy in being with myself and coping with things I normally wouldn't be able to healthily cope with. So naturally I wanted to jot down these few simple and quick fixes that turned my hell year around...

• Find joy in small things: hanging out with my friends and family has always been such a huge help for me, but when I was, honest to god, having a mental block, it was hard for me to stay present and just live. Something that helped me enjoy the small things and recenter myself was focusing on my senses at that moment. Recognizing things I saw, what I physically felt, what I smelt, and what I could hear. I KNOW IT SOUNDS ABSURD BUT DO IT. You'll realize it really does recenter you.

• Eat healthy.. this is tough, but for some reason, when you eat good, you feel good. Don't you dare ask me the science behind it, however, something happens I know it. Maybe it's just the thought of doing something you know is good for yourself. Feel free to not take my unsolicited advice but it helped me a ton.

• Doing new things/changing your routine. I find that my literal only hobby is working out and my interest in finding another hobby is minuscule. So even if it's not a new hobby just maybe switch up how you do that one good hobby. Instead of doing the same workouts I always did, I tried pilates, and cardio, and yoga.. and just a bunch of different workouts that I never really would've done prior.

• Realize the only person you are in a competition with is yourself. Stop comparing yourself to other people because literally nothing they do is going to change what you are doing right here, right now to better yourself. So each day just remember when you feel like you don't want to wake up to your first alarm, or you don't want to workout again, or you want to ruin your diet.. you're only competing with yourself. The only way to win the day is to do a little better than you did the day before. Just allow yourself to be your own competition and stop worrying about everyone else.

• Listen to podcasts. I had a whole era of podcasts and still listen to them here and there. They are quite possibly the most amazing things to listen to when you want something to relate to that isn't a sappy love song or a rap song about gang violence. Just try it trust me.. or don't (MY ALL TIME FAV IS The Sabrina Zohar Show- LOVE HER, LOVE IT, JUST LISTEN IF YOU WANT)

• YOU DIDN'T HAVE A BAD DAY, you had a bad few minutes that you let consume you and trickle into any other potentially unideal moments throughout the rest of your day. Stop convincing yourself the day is bad because something didn't go as planned. Life happens sometimes, roll with the punches and make the next few moments better for the rest of your day. Find things you can actively do to make a positive impact on your day. You can control your attitude. I know it is easier said than done but once you can make a habit out of it, the days are so much better and you'll feel so much happier even on days that maybe didn't go as planned. JUST STOP WASTING DAYS CONVINCING YOURSELF IT WAS BAD.

• Finally- turn off notifications. Just live in the damn moment. It's okay to miss a text or a call or a Snapchat or to not know how many likes your post is getting. I turned off all of my notifications for Snapchat and it was quite literally such a power play for me.

This year has been and continues to be probably one of the hardest years for me, with everyday simple struggles, deaths, family illnesses, and a lot of hard-to-cope-with moments. I have had to put a lot of old unhealthy habits aside and realize that life is so short and our time is limited. I think the experiences I have gone through and continue to go through this next year are constant reminders that you aren't promised a long time so making the most of it is important. I found a lot of ways to be happy through everything, and it is so emotionally freeing to just be happy with your life and live in the moment. ANYWAY.. enjoy my few pieces of advice, take it or leave it.