Spring cleaning doesn’t have to just refer only to finally washing the void behind the refrigerator or dusting off your warm weather clothing. The winter may not have been the only thing making you cold the past few months. Bad habits and poor choices can easily bring us down. Spring is rapidly approaching and what better time when the world is growing back, to regrow yours.
Getting out of the winter funk takes some effort, but once the days get longer and you don’t feel the need to always be under a heated blanket, it gets much easier. A good place to start is obvious: clean. Pick up your room, do all the dishes, wash the windows, just find anything that you can and make it shine. Having a clean space to live in will help clear your mind, and if you work in that space you will find you can more easily focus on your job or homework. There also is something about deeply cleaning; on your hands and knees scrubbing that gives you a sense of achievement. Seeing your work paying off will make you feel like you have progressed toward something and put you in the right mindset to tackle harder tasks.
Now everybody has bad habits that negatively impact our lives. What people don’t often remember is that the people we let into our lives can also negatively affect us with their behaviors. Friends or significant others who are constantly saying things that bring others down or who don’t respect your emotions can really cause issues in your life. Being around someone can alter how you think about things and sometimes you don’t even notice it. For example, you could have a friend who is always commenting on strangers' appearances in a mean way you will one day be by yourself and see someone and find yourself thinking “God, she shouldn’t wear that, she looks terrible.” You stop and realize that it wasn’t really you saying that and you don’t want to be so mean.
In romantic relationships, it is really easy to fall into mildly abusive patterns and you often won’t realize until you are out of it. If your significant other doesn’t respect your opinions or never really listens to you then you may be annoyed at the time but never do anything about it. If they rely on you too much to you, you can feel as if you have shackles on your wrists. There is a fine line between having a healthy amount of dependence and being needy.
This spring, you should find a way to stop these behaviors you see in yourself, friends, or significant other. Either end relationships and move on or communicate with them that you will not tolerate these actions. Start focusing on the things that make you happy. There is no need to go about life never doing anything for your self. Clean your room and clean out your life of things that keep you from shining. Go for more walks, eat healthier, stay tidy, and get ahead in your work. Talk to new people and open up about yourself. This spring is a time to show that if flowers can regrow after a harsh winter, and so can you.
