So. We're feeling down and unmotivated, and there are several areas in our life that need a bit of fairy dust. But for now, we'll find our 'dust' in the form of ink. Or lead. Whatever floats your boat - basically I'm telling you to pick up a pen and a sheet of paper and write down all the crap bits currently in your life. I put mine in a spider diagram, but a list does the same job - remember to leave plenty of space between each 'problem' because the next step is finding the solutions!
Everyone's list will be different of course, and parts of them may be rather personal! I'd realised, by the end of January that my life was dull and I wanted to do things for myself - I wanted to be my own person, and not controlled by uni assessments and exams. Examples of my 'shit bits' include finances (every student's woe), uni life in general, and finding ways to de-clutter and de-stress. And so here comes the next, and life-changing bit. Most people KNOW how to fix their lives, but it requires motivation and it's all to easy to say 'it'll never work'/ 'it's too much of a risk'/ 'I'll fall into another rut'. STOP MAKING EXCUSES. So around/under your problems, write ways you can overcome them.
E.g.: Finances - hand out CV, curb online shopping and general expenditure, borrow text books from the library instead of buying them, fill out Student Loan/Grant form for next year, sell things on eBay, search online for free gym sessions/activities. I also wrote a list of things I wanted to save my money for, such as a new car, a holiday, new Louboutins, a new handbag (oh, how to beat a Marc Jacobs?!), more Chanel perfume... Of course, just writing this out on paper isn't going to get the pounds rolling into my bank account, but seeing it down on paper makes it feel much less of a problem, particularly when it's surrounded by possible solutions. If you're going through a really tight financial crisis, it may be worth considering selling more larger items... before the bailiffs do.
Uni life - I should be aiming for 5 hours of independent study per day. My tutor gives us a reading list each week, demanding we read about 7 books per WEEK in time for the next lecture. I'm really not kidding. So to reduce stress levels, I'll aim to skim read about 4/5. And despite being stuck at uni learning about morphology and linguistic neutralization - things I really won't need for my ideal career afterwards - that doesn't stop me from doing what I want to do around uni time. So expect more blog posts (yay!) as I want to pick up my writing once again. Uni isn't 'prison', so find things to do around your time there - create a life for yourself! But the main thing to remember is to knuckle down and work hard for the next few years at uni so you can graduate with shining colours and walk into your dream job and keep the happiness rolling.
To quote Tommy from 'Friends with Benefits' (my film of the month!): 'Everybody wants a short cut in life. My guide book is very simple. You wanna lose weight? Stop eating, fatty! You wanna make money? Work your ass off, lazy! You wanna be happy? Find someone you like and never let her go.' Part of achieving your goals is by taking on a no-nonsense tough-love approach to your problems.
Creating this list is also like making resolutions. I wanted to vary my exercise activities, and attempt to like yoga, but was rather difficult if I also needed to be saving money. But by extraordinary coincidence and pure luck, the solution hit me right in the face when I was treating myself to a new pair of running leggings from my all-time favourite sportswear store, Sweaty Betty. The shop assistant was so lovely and chatty - I felt I'd made a friend when I finally left! Anyway, she asked if I was a Sweaty Betty member, and I was like 'hm say what now?' It's a free membership, literally just write your details on a card and you get a shiny pink piece of plastic, allowing you 10% off everything in store (save money), AND exclusive access to their FREE WORKOUT ACTIVITIES in the week (vary exercise). Thank you fairy godmother! So I have yoga on Wednesday evenings in a shop that I love, and a running club if I wanted on Thursdays. For free. Once you embark your life revamp, you never know what opportunities will hit you in the face! I also managed to scoop myself a 3-day free trial at LA Fitness for the weekend, and score a free spinning session there on Monday evening. It's great! A week on and I feel I've turned my life around. I'm actually finally starting to fall in love with Brighton.
My message is 'think of what you want to do, and DO IT'. Making this list helps you work out which aspects are most important to you. If you're in a crap/boring job but desperately need the money, just keep your head down and keep ploughing on. If your job is actually making you miserable, then quit and find something new. (Probably best to find something new before quitting...) - It's easy to say and much more of a risk to do, but particularly when you're older, your job should reflect your personality, or be something you've worked your whole life for. There's a quote which was stuck up on the wall at my work: 'pick a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life'. I found it rather ironic as it was in a restaurant where I waitress, and however much I like working there, it's still having to be nice and charming to snobby customers when you really just want to throw on a pair of man-trackies, wipe off your make up and watch crap on TV, but you get the idea. And if there's really no solutions for your mass of problems and banes of life, then find something extra to do to bring a piece of sunshine to your day.
So when you're stuck in a rut, and nothing seems to brighten up your day anymore, revamp your life, and become your own success. You'll be surprised at what a couple of small changes will do.
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