There will come a time when you feel battered, bruised, broken, and lost. It will not be enough to have others tell you, "it's okay" or "you'll get over it." The things that used to make you smile may no longer provide you with the same joy they once did. Sometimes, it seems like nothing will make you feel whole again. This list is for those times when you feel there is nothing left to smile about.
1. Write down everything you're grateful for.
The happiest people are the most grateful! List them out by hand and keep going until you've thought of every minor detail...every object, friend, opportunity, privilege, and things about yourself you could not imagine a world without. After I finished my list, I had never felt better. It really opened my eyes to just how lucky I am to be who I am and have what I do!
2. Write down everything you want in your life in the present tense.
Make sure to include every detail and be specific about exactly what you would want if you were to be given it at any moment. Pretend you're ordering your ideal life online! Who would you be with? Where would you be living? What is your career? Are you traveling? Keep it in the present tense, as if it were your current life.
3. Watch this video:
4. Clean out the things no longer serving you (FB friends, room, closet, etc.)
Sometimes the most freeing thing is to take away the parts of your life that are no longer giving you what you need. "Stuff" can suffocate us when we are surrounded and distracted by so many unimportant things. Cleaning out your Facebook friends of those who do not spark joy in your life, along with physical clutter can ease your cramped mind!
5. Give yourself some TLC.
Depending on how lost you feel, there's a good chance you've let yourself go. Remember how nice it felt to have your hair curled, nails painted, makeup skillfully applied? Give yourself just one day a week where you allow yourself to feel as beautiful as you are. Take a long bath with soaps, essential oils, candles before exfoliating, moisturizing, shaving if you like, and then tucking yourself up in some clean sheets as you deserve.
6. Induce change in your life.
When you're stuck in a funk, for many the only way to escape it is to change one's view of life, starting at the micro-level and moving upward. Get a drastic haircut, clean out your wardrobe and update your closet, move around your furniture to give a new perspective, delete all your social media accounts, or take up a new hobby! When you change, your life needs to change with you if you are to become your greatest version.
7. Remember society expects you to be perfect all the time BUT know that no one is.
Instagram is an illusion which shows only the parts of a person's life that they want you to see. The perfect photo takes many tries, the best angles, lighting, and editing. Shut off social media and go out into nature, take care of yourself, surround yourself with people who love and support you, and take it one step at a time until you're where you need to be. Forgive yourself for mistakes...for being human!
8. Hug someone.
Human touch is so important and one of the best ways to counteract feelings of sadness. Let them hold you, and hopefully, they'll hug you for as long as you need them to. Don't be afraid to ask for this simple act of nurture because it is so important to your wellbeing. We could all use more hugs!
9. Write an angry rant and then burn it. As it burns imagine all the bad leaving you.
In order to move on, we must put the past behind us, to forgive and sometimes forget. Flush it out of your system through writing. Get it all out on paper until every feeling has been freely expressed. Burn it and imagine the negative energy leaving you, allowing you to step into a new future.
10. Sage your house.
Remove any negativity or bad spirits by burning sage, making sure to get the smoke into all the corners of the room. There are plenty of tutorials on how to properly sage a room, but when you're done you will feel like your house is a blank slate ready to be written on by a stronger version of yourself.
11. Remember what you came here to do. Live your life according to you, not anyone else.
People will inevitably move onward, leaving you with a life you hate because it was their dream not yours. No matter what others believe, this is YOUR life and you should hold the pen to your story without feeling like you need to shape it to fit someone else's opinions. You only get one shot to make it the best and most bad-ass novel ever written!
