how to feel like a person?
digital detox. if your phone was taken away, how much free time would you have? how empty would your day be? do you have things to do outside of scrolling endlessly on different apps? if you come to the realization that a lot of your time consists of being glued to your screen, you need to start considering incorporating no-phone time blocks into your day. a big part of our daily misery boils down to consuming so many things in 24 hours, to the point that we feel too burned out to do anything else that truly nourishes our body and soul.
establish a routine. discipline is so important for happiness. start out smallâschedule your day, get consistent with your skincare routine, take daily walksâand then gradually add more and more things. donât try to revamp your life all at once. thatâs a surefire way to quit altogether. be realistic about your limits, but also push yourself where appropriate so you donât stay static.
journal. mentalize your feelings. donât suppress your emotions. be curious about your thought processes and what makes you tick. always be self-compassionate, but hold yourself accountable where itâs due.
start pursuing hobbies. make a list of all the things that interest you and try them out. there are so many things out out there; one of them is bound to stick. donât go into it with the negative mindset that you know you wouldnât like doing x and y. some things you might know in your heart are not for you, but donât rule out possibilities youâre ambivalent about. be open-minded and see finding your interests not as a chore, but as an exciting prospect.
practice gratitude. this is such a popular advice bc it works. start off your day by listing 3 things youâre grateful for. itâs crazy how so many people donât realize itâs a blessing to just be alive, when so many people get robbed of their lives so early on. iâm not saying to never shoot for more, but having a foundation of contentment goes a very long way.
have a solid set of friends, but march your own march. you donât need anybody; you just want them. same thing with friends. friends are good for us because we are a social species, but if one person were to leave your life, itâs not the end of the world. your life is already colorful, filled with so many things youâre doing for yourselfâfurthering your career, improving on your skills, working on your fitnessâthat a person leaving shouldnât be detrimental. never be so dependent on someone you canât envision a life without them. you need to make your life exciting on your own; you canât have someone else doing all the heavy lifting for you.
have an abundance mindset. if one thing fails, that just leaves room for something better to take its place. you are always bound to find better. there are 8 billion people in this world. there are countless different possibilities. failure or loss does not mean itâs game over for you.
see pain as a learning experience. true growth spurts do truly come from heartbreak or failure. it teaches us to pick ourselves back up and try again. always have a growth mindset. that relationship didnât work out? now you know what to avoid for the next relationship. youâre single again? now you get to focus on and learn more about yourself. that friendship ended? at least you wonât waste any more time on someone who doesnât value having you in their life. you didnât get that job? that leaves the door open for other possibilities. you didnât get the score you wanted? now you know what to work on to do better next time.
action-directed things to improve your self-esteem. you can sit in your room all day and tell yourself youâre the best thing since sliced bread and everyoneâs obsessed with you, but truly building up your self-esteem comes not only from thinking positive things about yourself, but also acting on them. work on things you care about. work on yourself as a person. love who you are, but also strive for self-improvement. do things that can act as proofâto youâfor why youâre worthy. itâs a game changer.
dispense of the victim-of-life mentality. itâs safe to dwell in your misery and keep blaming things on factors out of your control, but where would that get you? itâs just resulting in you expending your energy needlessly. stop seeing life as jumping from tragedy to tragedy. actively fight against your negativity bias. recognize that for every bad thing that happens, 100 good things happen, but we as humans have a tendency of focusing only on the negatives. sort through your emotions, make peace with what happened, but pick yourself up and move on. the most valuable thing we all have on this planet is time. itâs limited and it will come to an end eventually. you donât want to look back and resent yourself for not simply letting go of things and appreciating what you have around you.
