How to keep going amidst the crisis?

The current crisis has altered our lifestyles greatly. We often realize only the physical changes that we face. But the majority of us do not even realize the impact it may have caused to our mental well-being. 

The cost of living, difficulty preparing meals and traveling to work has become a routine to us now. I too, recently experienced a lot of stress having to work online. Work seems limitless and the monotonous pattern of life often causes frustration.  That is when I started working on it. 

Here are certain strategies that can I would like to share with anyone in need. 

1. Set up your own rules

Work might start getting limitless. You may realize that there are no boundaries and a time schedule and you may be working day and night, even during the weekend. So take the first step to helping yourself. Set up a few rules to yourself. 

• Be the most patient you can be with everybody you associate or work with. We don't know what they are going through. Now being patient does not mean that you would tolerate anything and everything. 

  - Speak up and seek help if you are experiencing burnout. 

  -Do not tolerate any kind of ignorance or unempathetic behavior towards your mental state. 

  -Do on depend on others to get your work done because if they do not perform upto your expectations it may lead to disappointment. 

  -Practice working at your own pace. Give your best.

  -Be empathetic towards everybody at work, we don't know what they are undergoing or how stressed they could be. 

  -Take a deep breath and spread positive energy to anybody and everybody who may need.

• Set your time limit. Do not attend to phone calls or messages related to work after this time limit. Spend that few hours of your precious time (device free) with your loved ones.  

• Doing your best at work does not mean that you would neglect your personal life, or sacrifice your precious time with your family. Manage time and get your work done. Always remember, no matter how enthusiastic and hard working you are at your job you may always be replaced. Thus, do not make WORK your life. There'll always be somebody after you, sometimes ,somebody even better than you. 

2. Find your motivation

   - We all need a daily dose of motivation to get going. It could an affirmation, a song or even a video that you watch. I practiced starting my day listening to songs recently. I realized that I am very cheerful in the mornings and it makes me feel so refreshed. 

3. Make life more purposeful

   - We all need a purpose and a few goals to keep us occupied and focused throughout the day. You may do it mentally or even jot them down like how I do. Add a few different and fun goals for each day, such as plant a seed, shoot a nice photo, make/edit a video, based on your preferences.

4. Break the routine.

   - We all need a routine to be mentally healthy. Not having a routine would dis-regulate our circadian cycle which would impact our mood.  Therefore, work to a routine but make slight changes to it.  Monotonous life can make us fatigued and frustrated.  Ever since we started online I started making simple changes to my routine. I changed the time I wake up and started a new habit of looking out for three things to be grateful every morning.  I changed my hair which added a lot of confidence and newness to my life. Simple things things such as solo movie times, star gazing at night, completing an art, doing a dance /song cover, starting a new hobby(dancing, learning to play an instrument, making a new dish) would make a difference in the way we look at life. 

5. Walk

   - Jogging or walking especially in the mornings can help us gain motivation and energy for the rest of the day. Simply going for a nature walk in the neighborhood or walking around your garden would make a difference in the way you feel. 

6. Shopping

   - This term "shopping" that I refer here is not the expensive shopping that many of us cannot afford these days. Buying something new for yourself, even a new toothbrush to brush your teeth, would add a difference. Try it out, trust me. I bought a new moisturizer and a face wash for myself as I realized that I was running out. This time, I bought a different brand and this makes me so exited to try it out. 

   
   

   These little changes may not have the same impact on everybody. But certain little things could definitely make a difference in the way we look and perceive life. Enjoy the little things and do not hesitate to seek help whenever you need. No matter, how strong we think we are, we all need somebody to talk to and understand us. 

A simple rule for life

I got this little advice from my father when I was quite young. I was still schooling at the time....Do more than what is expected from you, be it career or your family. It had then planted in my mind and grounded in my heart. I have always wanted to do more and give more to myself and others. This idea may not instantly bring us success or make us billionaires but trust me,  it will definitely bring us self contentment.

A simple rule to attracting happiness:

Give more than what is expected from you.......

Start right here, wherever you are and whatever job you do. Practice the habit of going that extra mile to do your best at work. Render a better service than what you are being paid for. Love more than seems wise and help more than what is asked...

This doesn't mean that we need to be workaholics, neglect family time or be ready to tolerate any negativity that may come by. Remember! Life is meant to be lived not survived. Scheduling the day, working for a plan, moving out from toxic people and learning to say “No” when necessary is essential to help manage our lives and be happy.

Cheers to all those who are are ready to go that extra mile and spread love.

Just "SMILE"

A "smile" is the prettiest thing we can wear. It is the happiness that we can find just below our nose and is the best cure to many of our problems. When they say “smile is free therapy”, they actually mean it. Smiles help us to heal from deep within even without us being aware of it.

Why do we need to smile? For a fact, smiles make us happy even when we are actually not. It makes us look more beautiful and 80% more attractive than when not smiling. Smiling is similar to yawning, it is contagious. Thus it makes others happy too. It's the easiest way to instantly de-stress ourselves. 

Remember to always smile, because we never know who needs it. A simple smile of ours could make someone's day. It could make them smile too, bringing happiness to them as well. It could be the opening of our heart and help us be more compassionate with others. 

Whenever we have a tough day or time we need to remind ourself to SMILE. Yes... smile even though it maybe fake because our brain would never know the difference. The simple act of smiling, even though its fake, releases happy chemicals(endorphins) in the brain. This instantly improves our mood and actually helps us to relax and reduce the burden. 

No matter what happens in life, keep smiling. When you smile at life, it smiles back to you. 

Love Begins with YOU

We all need love and we are constantly looking for it. Aren't we? However, in the chase for love we often forget that love always begin from ourselves. Instead, we expect love always from outside. 

Talk to yourself. How much do you love yourself? How much attention have you given to your physicality and mentality recently? You look into the mirror every single day, groom yourself up just to impress somebody else? I've seen guys going to the gym just to impress their girl, to look good for her. And girls dress up to impress their boyfriend, sometimes wear clothes which the boyfriend likes. There is nothing wrong that I see in this.... But remember, you need to impress yourself first. 

Look at the mirror, talk to yourself and compliment what a beautiful person you are. Dress up well, buy new clothes and give yourself a sweet treat in the first place. You need to look good for yourself. Accept all your imperfections first in order to expect the same from somebody else. You are indeed the most beautiful for you when you start loving yourself.

Do not change yourself for somebody else, expect if the change is about a bad habit or something that causes trouble to yourself or others. Allow people who love you for who you actually are, regardless of any and every imperfection that you have, into your circle. People who expect you to change for them are not meant for you. Keep in mind, changing yourself for somebody else will never keep you happy for long.You'll start hating yourself. 

Do what makes you happy. Have some time for yourslef to reflect upon you. Appreciate yourself for your hard work and for surpassing all the obstacles so far.  Pay gratitude to everybody and everything that has helped you become who you are. You need to always be there for yourself even when no nobody else does. When you start loving and respecting yourslef, you will start attracting more and more love from outside. 

CHEERS!