The transition from summer to fall, warm weather to New England chill, summer responsibilities to college assignments, and days filled with more hours of darkness than sunshine, can be a stressful and somewhat unsettling for people.
Often times, the magnitude of these changes leave us feeling unmotivated or finding ourselves in a funk that we cannot seem to shake.
Whatever the circumstances may be, it is important to remember that changing your mindset can go a long way. Start training your mind to see the good in every situation and the improvements in your life will be monstrous.
Here are just a few ways I’ve learned to fight the funk, become motivated, and feel refreshed.
1. Go to bed at a reasonable time
Often times, our minds tend to run rampant at night. The best thing you can do to stop dwelling on the moment or the obstacles that are presented in front of you is to cozy up in bed, throw on some feel-good television (FRIENDS or Schitt’s Creek are my personal favorites) and fall asleep early. Not only will this get your mind off of the day, but it will also leave you feeling well rested and refreshed the next morning.
2. Don’t hit snooze
Although no one loves hearing the sound of an alarm clock bright and early, one of the worst things you can do each morning is hit snooze and stay in bed for an extra few minutes. It is important that you start your day out on a positive note. Once the alarm sounds, get up, make your bed, get dressed, and get your day started. Making your bed will not only start your day off on a good note, but it also will improve your mood and hopefully ease some stress when you come back after a long day and see a neat and cozy bed waiting for you.
3. Throw on a nice outfit
As previously mentioned, getting up and getting dressed right away will help to push off procrastination and allow yourself to get moving early. Although it is tempting to throw on a comfy pair of sweatpants and the biggest sweatshirt you own, this isn’t always the best way to kick start your day. Often times, just putting in the extra effort to throw on a pair of jeans or a nice sweater can be the little push you need to change your mindset and brighten your mood.
4. Set aside some time for relaxation
Two of my favorite things to do are to hit the gym, especially hot yoga class, and treat myself to a nice warm bubble bath. Although life is crazy busy, especially for a college student, it is important to set aside time for yourself and your personal well-being. Even if you only have time to set aside few minutes to focus on yourself, those few minutes will go a long way.
5. Stay off social media
People tend to have mixed feelings on the development of these new and complex social media platforms. Although they are extremely useful in allowing us to keep in touch with our loved ones and friends who aren’t on campus with us, these apps can cause us to measure the fullfilment of our lives based on the lives of others. This can be extremely damaging to our well-being. Online posts and pictures cause self-comparison and self-judgement for every second we spend scrolling. This is extremely damaging and draining and will only make you divert further away from your axis.
Don’t let social media consume you, if you’re feeling crappy try putting the phone away for a few hours at a time.
6. Go outside
What is better than feeling the fresh air against your skin and seeing the sun shining to remind us that we are alive and well? Instead of sitting in a stuffy, dark dorm room and taking a nap or procrastinating on assignments, go outside and move! We will never be as young as we are now, so it is important to take advantage of our bodies ability to move, exercise, and grow.
7. Don’t sweat the small stuff
Each day we wake up is an opportunity to start fresh. Leave your troubles from the past in the past. It is important to wake up with a clean slate and push aside any negativity from the day before. Working yourself up over things, that in the grand scheme of life are so minor, is extremely draining and not worth it. It just causes unnecessary stress and anxiety to our already busy lives. I know it is easier said than done, but it is important to remember that even your bad days only last 24 hours!
Regardless of what you take from this message, I hope you always remember that just as the sun always comes back and shines each morning. You too, will come around and find your groove again!