Coming back to college after winter break can feel like you have to go back to being the person you were before the break. This didn’t work for me. Like many, I was unhappy with the habits I picked up my first semester and I didn’t like who I had become. I spent the last two weeks of the fall semester wallowing and completely stressed about finals. I was only thinking about going home. But when I finally arrived back home for break, I realized the things that were burdening me weren’t just contained within the college campus. After a few days at home, I realized I needed a change in my life, but how do you start that?
As a modern woman, my solution was to turn to YouTube. I found this new trend of a 2023 reset which aims to completely change one’s habits and life for the new year:
From this inspiration, I decided that I needed to figure out the habits I wanted to focus on changing first. I journaled about how my last semester went, about the things I liked in my life, and the things I didn’t like.
This is the part where you just need to write, however, you need to focus on what you can control. You can write down things that upset you, but you then need to remind yourself that other people’s actions and circumstances are out of your control.
To change your life you need to focus on what you can do.
After you write down everything you have been doing and feeling, go back and highlight what makes you happy and what has been bringing you down. Try to connect your actions and habits to your emotions. For example, I realized I was unhappy when I felt I had no control over my everyday routine. I found that I needed to create a lifestyle change to bring more stability to my life.
Once you realize what is upsetting you, you can start to write down habits that you can implement in your life to fix these problems. For, I realized that I needed to start going to sleep earlier, and I wanted to both work out and journal every day.
What I eventually concluded is that the only things I can control are my actions. Human beings have this notion that we deserve good fortune, but what we deserve is whatever we can control. I learned I need to put in the work to get what I believe I deserve.
Wanting to get more stability, and a better morning routine it all starts with your evening routine. A big part of creating a healthier lifestyle is establishing an evening routine. The video attached below helped inspire me on how to start one:
Of course, a huge change in habits can be overwhelming, so another way to approach it is simpler and cozier habits, such as the video below explains:
It’s not easy to set a routine and change your lifestyle. The problem that most people fall into when making new habits is trying to do it just based on motivation. Motivation will only get you so far. What you have to do is engrain your new resolutions into your everyday routine, and make them a habit that becomes regular. By following these steps, one can gain perspective in life and completely change their routines.