The daily hustle and bustle of life stops for no one, and in a capitalist, materialistic society that is constantly reinforcing unrealistic standards, daily life can become exhausting. It can become so easy to slip into a mindset of simply going through the motions every day just to get through the day, only to rinse and repeat tomorrow. Our society largely bases success on wealth, and this is often harmful because sometimes people gauge their success and happiness only by how much material wealth they have. Considering all of this, it is important to stop the rat race going on in your mind, and take a little time to be happy with yourself. This accounts for various things I have done for myself, and is by no means the end all be all for anyone including myself; these are just some examples of ways you can make your days go by happier and easier!
One of the easiest ways that I have given myself the care I deserve is giving myself something to look forward to for the next day before I go to sleep. It can be a simple thing, like making your morning coffee drink, or even just sitting outside for a little. The point is to start each day with something that you can satisfyingly experience and pay attention to. I have found that when I give myself this time in the mornings I feel more motivated to be more productive. Giving yourself things to be optimistic about makes the less appealing tasks of the day easier to get through after you start the day off in a good mood. If there isn’t anything you can think of to do that would make the mornings worth looking forward to, try something new! For example, if you eat the same thing every morning try eating something different. If you do the same process to get your coffee, try a different method. Trying something different doesn’t have to be a life-changing difference; it can be a little present you give yourself to make the day more exciting.
On the flip side, one of the hardest things to get over is the standard you hold yourself to. Personally, I have held myself to a very unrealistic standard, which turned out to be very draining. The biggest standard I have held myself to is physical. I created a workout routine for every single day of the week that I forced myself to stick to, and I hated every second of it. I didn’t feel motivated to do it because I plain and simple did not want to; the only reason I did it was that I felt like I should. The workout routine would work for a week where I felt productive, and I could feel myself getting into better shape, only to be followed by a week of not working out at all accompanied by self-loathing of my own prescribed laziness. This cycle of a week on followed by a week off was pretty hard to deal with. On days where all I wanted to do was relax and lay in bed, I beat myself up for not getting up to do a workout even though I really didn’t want to. Only recently have I realized how unrealistic it is to workout every day unless you’re an athlete or you just really like to work out. I got over this standard by fully realizing that I can do whatever I want, and on the other hand, I don’t have to do things I don’t want to do. Obviously, this realization didn’t happen overnight, but this practice of giving up unrealistic standards helped my mental health and wellbeing in so many ways.
If you take anything away from this, it should be that you should do what you want in order to have a good day. When all is said and done, the only thing you will remember fondly will be the happiness you experienced in your life. Sacrificing your happiness for a materialistic society will never play in your favor. It is always ok to have bad days and feel your emotions as they come, but it is important that you do things to make you feel better. Living in this life is already hard enough as it is, and you don’t need to make it any harder for yourself by limiting what you want to do. Live your life girl, and don’t let anyone stunt your personal growth!