Life can get stressful (like really stressful), especially while being a college student. Things get busy, school gets tough, work piles up and life just doesn’t seem as good as it once was. It happens, but the important thing is that there are simple ways to make yourself a little happier each day, even with your busy schedule.
Take some time for yourself.
A lot of the time we never want to say ‘no’ to things. We want to volunteer, we want to go to every meeting possible, and we want to help our friends, but sometimes you just need to take a break. When every little moment of our lives is filled with a million things to do, it can be virtually impossible not to be stressed out. Spend some time on you. Read a book, sleep in, or catch up on your favorite show. It doesn’t hurt to leave a little time for yourself every week.
Go outside.
The weather is gorgeous out, so you might as well get out there and enjoy it. Take your homework outside or read a book. Every once in a while it won't hurt to get some fresh air and change the scenery from your apartment walls to the beauty of nature.
Pay yourself a compliment.
It’s important to realize the positives of who you are. At times, we are hardest on ourselves, so take a second to realize all the great things you are accomplishing, the amazing person you are becoming, and the bright future you have ahead of yourself.
Cut out the negative.
If a certain person, place, or thing is strongly contributing to the decrease of happiness in your life, get rid of it. Nobody, or anything, is worth your happiness. The quickest way to improve your mood is by removing the negative vibes and replacing it with things that will bring happiness. It might seem difficult, or even impossible, in the beginning, but it’s totally doable and you’ll be thanking yourself in the end.
Get active.
Being physically fit can be a huge influence on your happiness. Spending just a few hours a week in the gym can boost your confidence and mood instantly. You don’t even have to go to a gym if you aren’t a member of one, you could always go for a jog or look up workout videos online that don’t require equipment. The smallest bit of activity can make the biggest difference.
Pay attention to what you eat.
If you spend every day eating junk food and avoiding vegetables and fruits, you might want to consider changing your diet. Coming from someone who wouldn’t eat a vegetable if my life depended on it a year ago, I now love them. And what I love more than eating them is the way they make me feel after. I can always feel the effects of my diet. If I’ve spent all day eating less than healthy foods, I feel tired and sluggish; however, if I spend the day eating freshly cooked meals filled with healthy ingredients, I feel awake and ready to take on the day. What you put in your body can make a huge impact on how you feel and you’d be surprised how good eating healthy can taste.
Spend time without technology.
As a lover of all things social media and Netflix, I never thought that being without technology would make me happier, but it can. I’m not saying to do forever (mostly because I know I couldn’t) but turning off your phone for a few hours isn’t the worst thing. You’ll be surprised what you come up with to do when you can’t kill an hour stalking people on Instagram.
Visit your family.
How can you not be in a good mood when you’re surrounded by the people who love you more than anyone else? There’s something about being home and being able to completely be yourself that is relaxing. You can forget about all the stress of school and work, just focusing on enjoying time with your loved ones for the weekend.
There are a million little ways to become a happier version of yourself, you just have to trust that they’ll work and go for it. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut and believe that nothing is going to help, but that only thing that won’t help is having that kind of negative attitude.
