As a college student, everything is changing. Your beliefs may be challenged, the change of location and people may make you in insecure, and it may seem like everyone around you has their life figured out. With all of this change, it can cause one to have moments where they feel lost, in a funk, not happy. Sometimes it is nice to just lay there, surrounded in pillows with your headphones in, listening to Frank Ocean, having yourself a nice pity fest. However, at the end of the day, this is no way to live. Life should be filled with positivity, adventure, and living it as your best self. Here are 5 steps to picking yourself off the bed, pausing your music, and taking action to bettering yourself and loving your life.
1. Target the Problems in Your Life
When you find yourself doubting, what is the real root of the problem? Are you comparing yourself to others? Are having problems in your relationships with friends or loves? Are you just not happy with the way you have been living? By targeting these specific problems, you can make an effort to try and find the solutions. By realizing what is making you sad can spark a change for you to eliminate the negativity and let yourself be happy again. If you are not happy with your health, then take steps to improve it. If someone in your life is dragging you down, then have a serious conversation about how its effecting you. If you are simply just not happy with your life, then find something that inspires you, opens a new door, and moves you for the better.
2. Set Goals for Yourself
Along with finding solutions to your problems, set goals for yourself to help motivate this change. Whether or not your goals tie to the solutions or not, setting goals is extremely important to improving your well being. Think about the things you want to do with your life before you are older. Do you want to create more art? Do you want to hike more mountains? What about making more friends? Whatever it is, write these desires down on paper and give them a deadline. This will help you accomplish these goals and actually stick to your word of you wishing you were more creative, adventurous, or outgoing. No body wants to look back on their life and wish they said more, wish they saw more, wish they just got up from their desk and experienced life. Do not let that be a regret; set the goals and go for them.
3. Spend Time Doing a Hobby
If your goal was to create more art, hike more, or volunteer, then this is the time to do it. As they say, “There is no better time than the present.” This could not be more true. Find what you love and start doing it. Hobbies allow yourself to express what you love, let off some stress, allow you to think, and leave with feeling not only accomplished at your pastime, but finding happiness in something. Hobbies better your brain and your heart. One common complaint is that people don’t have an outlet to express themselves and do what they love. Well, the outlet is in your hands, so plug into it and embrace the art, the hiking, the culture, the gym, the books. Find your passion and run with it, it will give you something to look forward to everyday.
4. Write Down Your Thoughts
One of the most important steps of bettering yourself, reflection. At the end of the day, the only person who has to be happy with themselves is you. Reflecting through your thoughts is the way to find the answer to what is really bothering you, what makes you happy, and who you want to be. Having your personal reflections to yourself allows you to spill your guts and admit things, but, only to yourself – that is the beauty of it. It can also lead you to feeling at peace with yourself at the end of each day as your reflect on what went right, what went wrong, and how to make the next day even better for yourself. Writing down your thoughts lets you really get to the root of your heart through paper, putting your pen down and letting it all release. It is good for the soul.
5. Go Outside
Last, but not least and probably the most simple step: go outside. When in need of clarity the answer is always the fresh air, sun, and nature. Going for a walk, sitting in a park, or exploring a new area of the city can ground you. It leads you to a place of thought, experience, and escape from the thing that may be holding you down. By stepping outside, you are allowing yourself to pause and live life in the moment. Not only that, but the sun can literally cause people to feel joy from the warm tones of the earth. All in all, the earth is your home, it surrounds you, it is the ultimate hug by nature, it is there for you to lean on when you need to come to terms with yourself and realize that you belong here, you have the whole world ahead of you, and it’s all in your hands.
Picture Credit: RE/MAX Professionals Avondale Real Estate
These five steps to bettering yourself are essential to remember when you feel stuck. Maybe you fail one day, but that does not mean you failed yourself. Dust yourself off and make the most of your life because you only get one. Live a life that you will look back on and think, “I love who I was, I love what I did, and I love the life I lived.” By bettering yourself, you are taking the first step to living a wholesome, successful life.