Something that I love to think about is how each day can be seen as a new opportunity. When challenges arise in your life, it’s often hard to overlook them, to move on, to stop dwelling. This is something that you and I and everyone in between all struggle with from time to time. However, looking at the morning in front of you as a fresh start can boost your mentality and help you to not dwell on defiances from the past.
Since school got out and I graduated, I have found myself so much happier than I have been in a while. At first, I didn’t really know what the cause of it was, but it inevitably was all about changing my mentality.
In this post, I want to share with you all my daily routine for a happy mind! 🙂
The first thing I would recommend to you all, with being out of school and having some free time, is to take some time for yourself in the morning. After my cup of coffee, no two mornings for me are the exact same. Take time to connect to the things around you and wake up your body as well as your mind. I recommend yoga, or a light workout, or drawing or painting, but the mornings where I don’t stay in bed on my phone for hours are the best ones.
After this, make some healthy food! It’s a proven fact that eating healthier makes you feel so much better, physically and emotionally. For breakfast, I love making my homemade vegetarian omelet, some fresh coffee and some greek yogurt. For lunch, I’m obsessed with quinoa and some tomato & basil soup. Sometimes, I go out and splurge a little on a nice veggie wrap or salads. Eating better will give you so much more energy and will undoubtedly make you feel proud of yourself. And trust me, your body will thank you!
After taking some much needed “me-time,” I love spending the day with my friends. Take the summertime to reconnect with friends you haven’t seen in a while, or just spend the day with your inner circle. Even if you’re more of a homebody, I recommend going out a little each day, even if it’s just hanging out at Grassroots and getting a coffee with your best friend for an hour. Take a walk around downtown, go people-watching; spending quality time around the company of others always boosts my mood.
On your off days, make sure to adventure as much as you can! Take a beach trip or try a new restaurant or anything to get your nerves flowing with excitement. Having a good distraction like this is the best remedy to clear your mind of the mishaps of the past.
On your not-so-off days, something that puts my mind at ease is making a bullet list of everything I need to get done that day. My psychology teacher told us that “if it’s something that can be done in five minutes, go ahead and do it.” This is a great mindset to have, as once you accomplish small things in your daily routine, you almost always feel good about yourself and having that sense of productivity makes for a better day.
Often times, when I am trying to forget about a bad day I had previously, it helps me to be kind to strangers. My work setting is especially helpful for this, as working at a coffee shop makes it easy to talk to customers and coworkers. Ask someone how their day is going, smile at people you pass on the street, pay for the person behind you in line. Who knows? Maybe they’re trying to forget a bad day they had, too.
Sharing kindness is such an easy way to brighten someone’s day, even if just for a little. This post will go up on the 12th of June, so I would like to take a second to honor my dear friend, Levi Knop, who, every single day, took a few seconds to brighten the days of people around him. This is such a good example to learn from. We miss you.
At the end of the day, I like to finish the way I started. Making sure I’m connected to the things around me. Since I’m moving to college soon, I have been making sure that I take extra time each day to spend with my family. Sitting on the couch watching a good movie, lunch dates, shopping trips, anything to spread the kindness and spend time with the people I love most. Wind down at a kickback with your friends, or watch a good movie on Netflix. Take a long shower or do some yoga to relax your muscles. Do something simple to put your body at ease.
All in all, never take a day for granted. Don’t waste it in bed on your phone. Love, laugh, go out, spend money, get wasted, go somewhere new, try something new, cook with your family, enjoy the little moments. That’s something Levi taught us, too. Every day is worth living to the fullest.
Altering the simple steps of your day can add up to have such a huge effect on the way you look at life. These are just my steps to make sure I’m not only living each day to the fullest, but I’m happier in the way I see life. It’s only as good as your mindset.
Be happy not because everything is good, but because you can see the good in everything.
— mal
p.s. this post is dedicated to the memory of Levi. He inspires us every day to love the life you have, and to share kindness in everything you do. Live like him.
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