Everyone has ups and downs and taking the lows with the highs is an important life skill. Sometimes however, the troughs can be deeper and longer than is healthy. Whether you’ve strayed from your path, are struggling with loss, or are unhappy in your work, there are always ways to change course.
Give Yourself A Break
First things first, remember that you are only human and that everyone struggles at some point. Treat yourself as you would a close friend who was going through the same troubles. You most likely wouldn’t tell your best mate to quit whining and toughen up if they were having a hard time, you would be supportive and forgiving of their mistakes. Check any negative self-talk and try an approach you would use with someone you care about. After all you won’t start feeling better or be inspired to change if you’re always giving yourself a hard time.
Help Others
When you’re in a rut, it may seem like you need help before you can give back to anyone. This is often not the case. Research by Exeter Medical School found links between volunteering and lowered rates of depression and increased levels of wellbeing. If you are struggling, find a job that will tie in with how you visualise your new life. If you want to travel, complete one of the many TEFL courses available first and give something back whilst you’re abroad. Doing something meaningful and helping others will give you the clarity needed to make changes to your own life.
Switch Off
Try to minimize time on screens, especially on social media and playing games. Instead give yourself some time away from these distractions that only fuel racing thoughts and negative emotions. If you need help, apps like Moment can tell you how much time you spend on your phone per day and what it is spent on. Once you know how much time you spend online, you can start putting limitations in place to reduce the amount you use your device. Without technological interruptions, you can focus on the important things in life and will have more time to put energy into achieving these goals.
Start Saving
The burden of financial problems is one that many of us carry and can cause major stress. Whatever excuses you have for not saving can most likely be overcome if you are truly committed. There are apps that make saving and investing super easy such as Moneybox. This app lets you round up all your purchases and add the pennies to an investment fund, so not only will you be saving, you will be making money too. Putting away as little as £10 a week will give you a small rainy day fund in no time, so that if anything happens you have a cushion to fall back on.
If you find that you don’t like where are right now, there is always another way and with a few small lifestyle alterations you can get there. These four steps may seem very simple but they are extremely effective for driving change. Good luck and stay positive!
I am a young tech-obsessed Brit living in the UK (Brighton), interested in sport, travel, gadgets & software
