Everyone has bad days. I am a person who loves quotes, and today, I am going to share an exercise with everyone. The exercise is to bookmark/repin/like/save quotes that you like, and whenever you're having a bad day, go back and read them. I usually try to make sure I have some pinned up in my room for a few encouraging words each morning. Between the Stanford Rape Case to Alton Sterling to the Bastille Attacks, I think we can all use some pick me ups. While difficult to narrow down to ten, I present (In no particular order) my top ten favorite pick-me-up quotes (all courtesy of Pinterest):
1.“Some days you eat salads and go to the gym, some days you eat cupcakes and refuse to put on pants. Its called balance.”
There are a lot of people out there who struggle with how they look, how they eat, how they exercise, etc. I like to think that I eat a generally healthy diet, but some days I eat four meals plus snacks in between and half of what I eat is just straight up pasta and I end up feeling really disappointed with myself. That is why there are things called “Cheat days,” because you need balance in your life. Yes you can go most days eating fruits and vegetables for lunch and dinner, but without those lazy, cannot be bothered to move days, you would probably feel overwhelmed by trying to constantly police yourself. So yes, skip a day at the gym to visit with friends, have a piece of birthday cake, because if you balance the healthy for the body with the healthy for the mind, you will feel infinitely better.
2.”Not one drop of my self-worth depends on your acceptance of me.”
I am a people pleaser. I know lots of people pleasers. When you are a people pleaser, you often let what people say about you, and most of all what you think they are saying about you, dictate how you act. I use this quote as an encouragement to myself. “Wear the dress!” “Do the silly thing!” Most of all, it is a reminder that not everyone out there will like you. It does not mean that you are a bad person, sometimes personalities just don’t match. Remember you, can be the best tasting peach in the world, and there will still be a person who does not like peaches.
3.”Just because you’re trash doesn’t mean you can’t do great things. It is called garbage can, not garbage cannot.”
This quote makes me laugh, but it also comes with a deep message. Just because you may be at your lowest, does not mean you are incapable of doing great things.
4. “Great things never came from comfort zones.”
For the past two years of college, I have had this quote either on my wall, or as a phone background. It is a reminder to push myself, to try new things. Who cares if I suck at the new thing? At least I tried. If you do not push yourself, you will not achieve. This does not mean that if you want to be on the track team you have to start running ten miles everyday. It means you start with one mile, then push for three miles, then five, and so on. Staying in your comfort zone, will likely lead to a stagnant life. A little push everyday will lead to change and bettering of yourself.
Fun fact: while searching for quotes I have found this quote on my Pinterest board at least four times
5.”Note to self: If you were able to believe in Santa Claus for like 8 years, you can believe in yourself for like 5 seconds okay, you got this.”
I personally find this funny because as a child I was a hardcore believer in Santa Claus. As I grew up my parents tried to drop hints he was not real and I would defend him. It ended with me crying on the couch about his non-existence. Regardless, sometimes when I have no self-confidence, I read this quote and try to channel 9-year-old-Bridget and her amazing amounts of confidence (even though that confidence was in Santa’s existence).
6. “Your Body is Beautiful If: -You have a body -that’s it -you’re beautiful -you win -Congratulations
I don’t think this one needs much explanation. Love yourself because you are rocking it!
7. “Be who you needed when you were younger”
This one has come to mean more to me as I grow up and have younger cousins and students asking me for advise. In marching band, whenever a kid would give a suggestion, one band director would say “Well, when it’s your band you can do it your way.” Now when I teach color guard, I find myself looking back on my high school years going, “Okay, what did I want? Is what I wanted actually feasible?” More often than not, what I wanted back then was not feasible, but I do change how I act to hopefully reflect what I want out of a teacher. I try to always be encouraging to every younger person I meet, I want them to see positivity in the world. I want my young girl cousins to explore the sciences instead of being discouraged. I want my high school aged cousins to know that I am always an open ear. I want my friends who struggle with mental illness to know I am here for them just like how my friends were there for me. I want people to know that others are there for them, and by reflecting on my past, I can hopefully make a better future.
8. “Adventure is out there!”
“UP” is one of my favorite movies. It does not matter if your adventure is across the world or across the house. It is out there and waiting for you my friend.
9. “I’m letting go, so I can be free”
Before a guard show, my captains will lead us in a breathing exercise. We breathe in good things, and breathe out the bad things. Whenever I’m having a bad time (on or off the floor), I try to stop and breathe in a few good things that have happened, and breath out the bad things. Taking the time to remember the good certainly helps me to be more thankful and the breathing is rather calming. Basically, I’m letting go of the bad, so I can be free from the bad.
10. “All grown ups were once children…but only few of them remember it.”
If you have not read “The Little Prince”, stop what you’re doing, go to the nearest bookstore, buy it and read it. Re-read it. You learn something new every time. Just because I now have bills to pay and a full time job, does not mean I will forget what it means to have fun. I refuse to forget the joy of just sitting outside, of going to a playground, of reading, of being carefree, even if it’s only for ten minutes a day.
