I’ve come back from last week with an open mind to take on the weight of this next week. Midterms have now piled up but I am looking forward to getting a little bit of a break for reading week.

I want to continue my perspective series with the goal being to open your mind to your own capabilities of living to be your best self.

We can’t be our best selves and feel our best if we are slacking in living for ourselves. It’s a focus that we have to be mindful of. As much as we spread our kindness, we can’t exclude ourselves from that.

This week, my new perspective is my top advice for living for yourself.

Healing is strength and healing your self-love and self-worth mindset is super important for your mental health, physical health, and ability to look at the world with a sense of optimism and less of a weight.

I’ve picked up on a few things over the last few years, while going through major changes and working on myself a lot. I learned how to bring more love and passion into my day while being independent and learned what will make me more present socially, and mentally.

I think we should all make a checklist each day. The check list will consist of three things: do something for your mind, something for your body, and something for your soul. It’s that simple. This is the start. You accomplish these three things and I say that is pretty productive.

BODY: move your body everyday. Even if you stretch for five minutes… you are still showing care to yourself. I like to switch it up. I’ll go walking, go to the gym, in the summer go paddle boarding… anything that gets me outside or moving around, I count it.

SOUL: feed your soul with the things that bring you zen and peace. COFFEE is the easiest way to accomplish that for me. Or listen to music. BE AROUND YOUR FRIENDS. bringing you any sort of joy that distracts you from stress.

MIND: read a book, go to an art gallery, listen to a podcast. Something to get you reflecting or thinking and fuel the motivation to take a hold of your life and make it unique to you.

When it comes to the social mind, there are moments where we have to remind ourselves if we are going out our comfort zones for us. and whether or not we are with the people we enjoy being around without the weight of toxicity. I’ve learned when it comes to tapping into that extroverted side and being around people in a social construct, the way to be present comes from your mind.

It’s hard to be social and present when you are occupied with worries and thoughts that remove you from reality.

It is okay to say no to plans. Remember living for yourself means that it is okay to be on your own schedule and not move around your life for some people. We are all living in the same world and wanting to achieve our own personal goals, so don’t shuffle your life around for someone who may not shuffle theirs for you.

We have a choice when it comes to our capacity to be social. I feel like sometimes it’s more of an internal struggle when making plans when you feel like you have to switch things around and commit for someone else. And sometimes there are instances where we will do that for our friends, family, the people who support us. But that doesn’t mean that it has to be consistent. We are still living life just as much as everyone else… don’t forget that.

This goes into my last point of starting to set your own standards. When it comes to success and what we want out of life, it looks different for everyone. Starting to set standards to your goals is a big step in believing that you can achieve what you want.

STAY KIND:)

with love,

Grace