We’ve all seen the Tik Tok trend floating around, “How to be THAT Girl,” in what claims to be Five easy steps.
Those videos can be a rabbit hole, and I find myself engrossed in them, wishing I had the perfection that those girls had in their daily lives. But in reality, those “five easy steps” usually require you to:
A. spend a lot of money on products or gym memberships that you probably won’t like and use
OR
B. make drastic changes to your daily routine that aren’t practical for you and probably won’t last.
These videos can become incredibly toxic after a while, and for me personally, something that doesn’t make me feel good about myself and has me trying to change ME.
Instead of this, here are the simple steps that I have taken to become my own version of THAT girl.
1. formed a good morning routine
Now I don’t mean the perfect, “wake up at 5 am every day, workout, do homework for five hours, drink a nasty green shake, etc.” I mean I made a morning routine that works for me, and that is so simple, the first step is to make my bed. I have talked about this before in past articles, so if you need some inspo head on over to my previous article!
2. owned my spirituality
This may not apply to everyone, and that’s totally fine. I personally choose to practice my faith in a more spiritual way, using crystals, oils and natural herbs to add to my daily health and wellbeing. I try to be more in touch with the universe in my daily life, as well as my body. For me, this has become my second step to being THAT girl, by not being shy about who I am and what I choose to believe. So choosing something as simple as wearing my favorite crystal (moonstone, in case you were curious) around my wrist has become my step toward being unafraid to be me!
3. Listened to my body
Listen to what your body needs! Instead of forcing your body to do things that just don’t work for it, like going running or pushing to work longer during the day is not ideal if you are just doing it because “someone else does it and it looks good.” If you are too tired to keep working, shut your computer and take a break. If your body is exhausted and you don’t feel like working out today, count your walk to class as your exercise for the day. It’s all about balance, and we don’t have to constantly be on ten to feel like we achieved something! The little victories always count.
4. started Reading
If you’re a reader, then this is easy peasy. If you’re not, I challenge you to do this. This is actually something that I usually see in that TikToks, and I decided to try it. Reading at LEAST once a day has genuinely made such a difference in my day. Once you find books that interest you, you find yourself using them as a little escape during your day to drift off into a story and take you out of a crazy world for a little while. (Book rec: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood)
5. give myself grace
Becoming THAT girl is virtually unachievable if you believe that in order to do it, you have to be perfect. I can promise you, THAT girl sleeps later than her alarm sometimes. THAT girl misses an assignment by accident sometimes. THAT girl goes out sometimes and stays up later than she should have. Giving yourself room for error, and accepting that it is okay to break from your normal routine or what you are striving to be is so important when creating longer-lasting habits for yourself.
I know you may have been expecting a set-out list of specific things to do during your day, but I’m challenging you to step out of that! Try to take steps to break out of that preconceived notion that you have to follow someone else’s daily life to have a perfect one. Do what works for you, and that is more than enough. Notice that they all begin with “I”? These were elements that I found changed the way I approached my day and that genuinely helped me! They’re simply for your mindset, and I encourage you to give these tips a try in order to become your own version of THAT girl.