5 Changes I've Made to Be Happier

When I first started this blog, it was in the hopes of posting weekly, or even twice a week. Clearly, that didn't work out. But I'm on a new productive kick, so I'm starting it back up, and even have a few other posts lined up in order to keep my promises of blogging more often. Speaking of my "productive kick" that's what I want to talk about today. I have written many drafts about this, but my life keeps changing and I keep implementing new practices into my day, that when I went back to the drafts, they just weren't applicable anymore. I have finally found a routine that works the best for me, and I am adding little things to my life to make me a happier and more motivated person.

Happier seems like a vague term, and many people don't believe that happy can be controlled from within. I disagree, and think that all moods and outlooks can be decided and changed with a change of daily routines. Clearly I am not saying that depression and anxiety can be cured just from adding some yoga to your mornings, but I don't think that it would ever hurt. Since starting college, and especially first semester, I felt unmotivated, and I got into an awful routine of staying up as late as I had to, and sleeping in as late as I could. I felt lethargic, and routinely wondered how I could use my life for good if it constantly felt like I was wasting my days. I decided that I didn't want to live that way anymore. I want to be productive, motivated, and happy with the direction that my life is taking me. I decided to take action to control the path my life was headed down. So this is my list of 5 Changes I've Made in College to be a Happier Version of Myself.

1. Daily Yoga

When I return from any place I have travelled to, I always come home with a new sense of spirituality. Whether this means that I am more understanding of other peoples' ways of life, or that I'm simply calmer in my day to day, something always awakens in me and makes me feel at peace with myself and others. I had lost that spirituality recently. I noticed that I wasn't looking at the world with wonder and excitement as much. It made me sad that I had retreated within myself. My first idea was that I needed to travel immediately in order to get that back. As a college student enrolled in 19 credits and currently without a job, that just wasn't feasible. So instead, I decided it was time to find my spirituality again, but this time from myself. I started doing yoga every night before bed, and sometimes in the morning too if I know I have a stressful day ahead. Currently, I am a huge fan of hatha and vinyasa yoga, which I know is strange because they are completely different practices, but hey, whatever works.

Hatha is a slow moving, yet strength building discipline. It requires you to hold the pose for long periods of time. I like this a lot in the evenings in order to calm down, unwind, and focus on my breathing. I notice that my heart rate slows a bit, even when I am holding some crazy poses.

I like vinyasa more in the mornings, because it is quick paced and keeps my heart rate and my breathing up. In vinyasa you move through flows quickly and steadily, holding each pose for a breath or two. I also love this when I wasn't able to get cardio in at the gym that day. I can definitely feel my heart rate elevating!

2. Waking up earlier

Like I mentioned above, last semester, I would sleep as late as I was physically able. If I had a 9:35 am class, I was in bed until 9:15, would throw on whatever clothes I could find, brush my teeth (not even my hair) and rush out the door. I constantly felt like I was scrambling to get where I needed to be, and it was not a good feeling. Instead, I started waking up way earlier than I really needed to, and I feel so refreshed when it is time to go to class. Everyday I wake up at 7:30, I wash my face, make my bed, sit down at my desk with a cup of tea or coffee and plan what needs to be done that day. (Side note: This is totally something I always made fun of my mom for doing, but now I understand. Moms really do know what they're talking about!) Sometimes I will finish a little bit of homework, I'll paint, or I'll even write a blog post. I feel like I have so much of the day left ahead of me, and it is a wonderful feeling. I no longer feel rushed. My morning are my leisure time.

3. Not wearing makeup

I don't want this to get misconstrued in anyway. I am not saying that wearing makeup makes anyone less productive, or unhappy. This was a personal decision I made for myself. I have a pretty bad habit of comparing myself to others, especially my friends. When we'd go out, I constantly felt like all the guys were looking at them, or that all the girls were envying them, but never me. It hurt a lot, I started wearing a full face of makeup everyday, which everyone knows, is just not me. I felt like that was the only way that I could compete with these girls, even though I love them to bits and pieces. I hid behind my makeup and felt that no one would ever like me without it. Wearing makeup ended up hurting my self esteem more than not. I recently read a quote that said "just because you don't look like somebody who you think is attractive doesn't mean that you aren't attractive. Flowers are pretty, but so are christmas lights and they look nothing alike" This is so true. My friends are naturally beautiful, but by not wearing makeup, I learned that I am too. Plus, my skin is definitely looking clearer so I'm doing something right!

4. Getting outside more

Oh man how this has changed my perspective! I live in the most beautiful mountain town. I mean, seriously the view of my window is the San Fransisco Peaks, covered in snow and inviting me to come outside. I have been spending many weekends and sunny days outside, whether it be on a hike, hammocking, or just sitting under a tree and people watching. The air is so pure and everything is so beautiful, that being inside for the majority of the day is a shame. Most weekends, my friends will drive to Sedona, which is a town about an hour away from Flagstaff, and will find a random hike. Sometimes they include river passes, when the river is just snow melt, and sometimes those river passes are enough to get us to turn around. Sometimes they result in hammocks and naps in the base of a canyon, and sometimes there is a beautiful spot overlooking the scenery to do yoga. Everything about this town and the surrounding areas calls me out, and it's always a wonderful feeling to come back to campus and to know that your day was spent in the fresh air, on an impromptu hike, with people you care about. I am preparing a whole post about recent hikes, and I can't wait to share that! Can't stress enough how important it was for me to learn that the best things are happening outside, and not behind my phone screen, which brings me to my next point.

5. Eating healthier

When I start on one of my health kicks, I usually have to have a strictly regimented routine in order to get used to a lifestyle change. When it comes to working out, I have to plan my workouts ahead of time, and usually go to the gym a crazy amount of times. Then I learn to calm down a little and take it day by day. I do the same thing with food and diets, but it is a lot harder for me to follow through with dietary habits. So about a month ago I started eating paleo, which is basically cutting out carbs, grains, unhealthy fats, legumes, and a lot of other things. I am confined to fruits, some nuts, white meat, and vegetables. Again, it is so hard for me to restrict myself when it comes to food. So paleo only lasted me about a week and a half. While I was disappointed with myself, I also realized that I can simply learn how to pick and choose what I want to eat on a daily basis in order to control my health. I didn't need a list of what I could or couldn't eat. My outlook now is that I "am going to eat healthily and mindfully". This does not meant that I don't have days where I eat something loaded in carbs and unhealthy fats. I had a slice of pizza and breadsticks yesterday. This just means that after a day like that, I know that I need to do better and get myself back on track. Going with the ebbs and flows of my cravings and giving in some of the time is healthy and necessary, as long as eating every impulse craving I have doesn't become a habit.

Since I've started implementing these things into my day to day life, I have noticed a drastic difference in my own self confidence and awareness. I no longer feel the need to hold on to people that don't appreciate me, I no longer feel the need to compare myself to others, I no longer want to sleep as late as possible or chase a social life when it isn't in my best interest. I can feel the spirituality that I once had returning and I am so grateful that I was able to make these changes early on. I don't foresee myself stopping any one of these five items soon. Thanks again for being forgiving with my lack of posting (let's be real, who actually noticed?). I'll be back soon with more posts and more life updates! Thanks for reading.

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