I saw myself living to work, maybe you can relate to this a bit.
It started when I was giving myself just enough time in the morning to walk my dog, get myself ready, pack lunch, & make breakfast. I was away from home for 10-11 hours out of the day, I would sleep for 7-8 hours, so what was I doing for the rest of those 5 ish hours? I'll tell you, not much. I was telling myself I was exhausted after work and that I had to go home and relax for the next day of work, but really, I wasn’t exhausted, like at all. I honestly just fell into a lazy routine. When I came to that realization, I started seeing work as just a part of my day. I have since started waking up earlier and allowing myself to have a morning routine. I then go to my job because it is a part of my everyday life that provides me income to live. I started choosing to exercise either in the morning or evening, whichever worked better for my schedule that day/week, so that I could give my body what it needs- healthy blood flow. I usually finish off my day with a calming night routine. I still did the usual things I was doing before, but I added. I added in more writing, more walking with my dog, reading, more cooking, better skin care, more quality time with my boyfriend, more Vitamin D, self reflection, and anything else that just made me feel more thankful and alive before I went to bed and when I woke up. I wanted to appreciate my life a whole lot more than I was.
Achieving this and being consistent takes time and practice. It is a mindset that once you come to the realization you are in, you won’t want to get out of it. Figure out your top priorities in life and take those extra steps to make time for them everyday. You can achieve so many things by just dedicating time in your day to YOU and doing the things you enjoy. If you want a better life, it is only up to you to get it. You can’t blame other people for your lack of effort. No one is going to come and hand you 3 options and tell you to pick the life you want, you have to really work for it. If you aren’t consistent, then you don’t want it bad enough. If you are consistent, then keep going.
Ponder this, a plant will not grow if it gets watered once a week, so how will you? How will you grow as a person if you are only being nice to yourself and taking care of yourself once a week? Truthfully, you won’t. Are you going to try it out then stop just because no one gave you credit for it or because the progress was slow? No, because slow progress is still progress, and even though there are people out there that are seeing your changes, some will not genuinely react to it. The reason for this is because they don’t like to see YOU living the life that THEY aren’t willing to work hard enough for. There will be those other people in life who love seeing your growth and courage, so keep them close.
There is no doubt that there is a struggle whenever you first choose you want to have that superior life. Be more kind to yourself, but still hard enough to where you won't let yourself go off the deep end. I became more grateful for the things I had, such as an income and a healthy life. I stopped paying attention to the little things that didn’t matter, but for some reason, were taking up a lot of time in my life. I’ve become more confident, while also remaining modest and holding my values. The biggest thing that I have realized is that at the end of the day, it is my happiness & my life first, so I will do what is best for me. I will continue to hold onto that because it has done tremendous things for me so far in helping me grow into myself.
Are you doing what is best for you? What is your biggest struggle, and what is stopping you from taking that next step towards a better YOU? Comment below to discuss!
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