A concept that many people don’t fully comprehend is that every little thing that you encounter throughout your day-to-day life has the potential to affect you. No matter how small an encounter or situation seems to be, it can weigh on you.
Have you ever felt stressed, angry, sad, or frustrated for no apparent reason? That’s because other people’s bullshit has more of an effect on you than you think.
If you are looking to be more proactive about improving your mental state, you need to start thinking about yourself and what is beneficial for you. Being “selfish” has always had a negative connotation, but when done the right way it is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Protecting your peace can be as simple as being more mindful about the media that you are consuming daily. Most people do not realize the immense amounts of media that they are consuming by the second. Scrolling on TikTok for even just a minute can expose you to a plethora of things.
For example, if you have been struggling with body image issues, seeing unrealistic beauty standards on your feed all day will do nothing but affect you negatively. Even if you think that those things don’t affect you, without even noticing you will start gradually being more mean to yourself and becoming discontent.
Another example: Scrolling through social media there is plenty of uncensored content that can be violent and disturbing.
Once again, even if you think these things do not affect you; yes they do. As humans, many of us are extremely empathetic and deeply affected by the things that happen around us.
Limiting the time you spend on social media platforms each day will improve your mental state greatly, or even just controlling what you are choosing to view and being more mindful about it.
Aside from social media, the interpersonal relationships in your life can be a stress-inducing thing. Having a close relationship with someone romantically or platonically can affect each other negatively or positively.
To avoid negatively affecting each other, boundaries are necessary. Any relationship without boundaries is pure chaos. Boundaries are as simple as having a mutual understanding about what is okay to say to each other and the amount of time you spend with each other.
Being there for your loved ones is an amazing thing but only to an extent, when you find yourself taking on someone else’s problems that’s when there’s an issue. When someone starts to constantly come to you and only you with their issues it can become incredibly draining.
You start to take on all of that person’s hardships and it weighs on you. People’s energies and what they say also have a lot of effect on the people around them. If you’ve noticed a particular person in your life that makes comments and remarks that bother you, don’t brush it off just because it’s “not a big deal”. These things can add up and start to affect your joy and happiness.
Don’t be afraid to cut out what you need to in your life. Being selfish is not a bad thing, and can benefit your life and the way you live. Remember to put yourself first. You are your most important person. You have control over what you let into your life. Protecting your peace and your energy.
How do you protect your peace? Tag us @HerCampusSJSU