Sometimes in life we get stuck in a rut. Day after day seems the same, feeling lost and hopeless. Going through the motions; wake up, get ready for work/school, drive or use public transportation to get to work, doing your mundane work tasks, back home, eat dinner and bed. Then we wake up and do it again; over and over. Yes, you can call this depression. However, maybe you are a bit lost in your life journey. What if you just needed to come back to square one and rediscover yourself? Gain back the meaning of life. Find your passion again.
We are going to go through a few things that help. It won't be an overnight transformation and like everything else in life, you will have to work at this. We recommend grabbing a journal or notebook.
Let's get started.....
Mindset
Your mindset will dictate everything in your life. We all heard of "the glass half full or empty" concept. Do you see it half full or empty? How about this, are you thankful you have something to drink? GRATITUDE. Gratitude is the easiest way to change your mindset. It helps us see the positive in things. Try saying to yourself on your way to work, "I am thankful I have a job to pay my bills, keep a roof over my head, food on the table and clothes on my back". If you do this everyday on your way there, you will be surprised how fast you change and appreciate having a job. Do every task with gratitude and watch how seeing the positive helps your mindset, attitude, and attracts more positive out comes. Positive vibes attracts more positivity. A book that is a big game changer is "The Secret" by Rhonde Bryne. It's any easy read and when ever you feel as though you are in a negative mindset, pick it back up and reread to help you get back to positivity.
Here's your first task! Grab your notebook or journal and list out what you are thankful for. Bonus points if you turn your negatives into positives. Here's an example, you get your electric bill, it's a bit higher than you expected. Say thank you for having the funds to pay it and being able to have lights, TVs, air condition, and other things that are able to run. I would suggest these gratitude lists everyday and in times of sadness.
Change
Change is scary and not always easy. However, a change that is big or small can put excitement back in your life. We can start with something small like riding your bike into work or maybe trying a new recipe. Think about it, if you choose to try one of those many recipes that you pinned on Pinterest once a week, it will help you get through Monday and bring excitement to your Tuesday night. If you want to take it up a notch, try Hello Fresh. They deliver to your doorstop ingredients for recipes you picked out the previous week. It's also exciting to see a package delivered as well. Trust me starting with a small change may give you the courage to make an even bigger change.
What about a BIG change? Have you ever received an opportunity to relocate for work , maybe with higher pay? However, you turned it down. Why? Like most people we think of everything we can lose when we make a big change. What we should really look at are things we can gain. When opportunity knocks, it's a chance to open a new door to an exciting life. It's a chance to open up our horizons and gain more in life. Yes, it's scary but what's even scarier is the regret of not taking the chance of change.
*Try This*
When there's an idea of change try to list out the pros and cons. Focus more on what you can gain if you changed either a big part of your life or a small.
Social Media and comparing ourselves to others
We all have some form of social media. Whether it is Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or even Pinterest and with this we compare ourselves to others. We see so much people have accomplished and start to feel as though we haven't done much in our lives. First and foremost, let me say this; IT'S NEVER TOO LATE! If those are some things you want to do then do it. Add it your bucket list or inspiration board. No one is stopping you. Secondly, always remember with social media, people will ALWAYS post the best parts of their life. You probably do the something and guess what....... someone else is comparing their life to yours.
*Here's some tips for social media*
Instead of following your favorite influencers, maybe follow some accounts that you can learn from or things that inspire you. Just changing what you look at can change your mindset. Find accounts that post positive quotes and inspiration. Make use of social media and find accounts that show "How to's" and unfollow any accounts that have a negative effect on you. For instance, the Instagram Influencer with over 500k followers, a closet to envy, a body to die for, and Barbie dream home. Switch it up and follow an account of delicious recipes or maybe an account to help you start a new hobby.
LIFE JOURNEY
Now the good part. Sometimes in our early life we made easy decisions and "NOW" decisions that got us to where we are. Or maybe we followed our dreams and now we have out grown them and just don't find it as exciting anymore. Let's ground ourselves, let's get back what we lost. It's what Tinkerbell was trying to show Peter Pan. We lost who we are in the mundane of every day.
*Get your journal out*
Here are a few questions for you to answer. Don't just answer them quickly, try and think about your answer. Maybe take it a day at a time. Remember this is about getting you back to your life journey.
1. As a child what was your favorite thing to do?
2. What did you want to be when you grew up?
3. What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
4. What do you want to do more of in your life?
5. Who is the person that always makes your feel best and why?
6. What motivates you to keep going?
7. What are 3 things you are good at?
8. What are 10 positive things about your life?
9. What do you feel is missing in your life? How can you obtain what you need?
10. What are 5 things that make you smile?
11. When was the last time you had a great day and what made the day great and memorable?
12. How can you add to your happiness?
13. What areas in your life needs improving and how can you improve them?
14. If you could travel back in time to your younger self, what advice would you give?
15. Where do you see your self in 5 years?
16. What are somethings you can do during the week to add to your self care?
17. Do you have goals?
18. What are you doing to achieve these goals?
19. What can you do that your future self will appreciate?
20. What skills do you have that you can help others with?
Number 20 is important. Giving help to others not only helps them but it helps us as well. It gives us a sense of pride and purpose. It shows we have something to add in life and not just to ourselves.
It's a lot of questions but they are thought provoking and it's about you! It's about gaining the control back in your life.
You get one life to live and with it you should make sure you can look back and smile. Smile at the laughter, the fun, the courage, the success, and even the bad days. Without the bad days we would never appreciate the good days.
*** We do note, that anyone suffering from depression should reach out for help. It's okay to ask for help when we need an extra hand.
