From some who has wasted so many
How many days of your life have you wasted?
I mean just gave up on the day. Instead of enjoying your time, you sit and worry. I started worrying about the rain the other day. When did life get so scary?
Some days you wake up and try as you might you can’t shake yourself out of the bad mood, that’s a bad day. I’m not talking about those days, we all have those, they are part of life.
I’m talking about the days where you give up, you give in, you just let the day drift past you because you’re convinced you’re not good enough. This is how you stop wasting those days.
Finding confidence in the evidence
Most people shy away from trying hard. I don’t know what it is about the human condition but for some reason we rather not try and fail than try and fail. It’s a way we protect ourselves. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.
When I got into writing, my life changed. Slowly, things started to shift. Every day I showed up was evidence to me that I could commit to something. That I was capable. That I could do it. That gave me confidence. That confidence made me feel great.
Then the same started happening with other things in my life.
I started running and because I showed up, I became more confident.
I started cooking and because I was trying and it was working out, I became more confident.
Evidence is the best way to build confidence. Lack of confidence comes from feeling like you can’t do something. Throwing yourself in and trying (and I mean really trying) is the quickest way to build confidence and find what you are capable of.
Convince yourself to go outside
When I’m procrastinating and need to go for a run, there is one thought that kicks me into action over and above anything else. It’s this:
One day you won’t have the privilege to choose.
That thought kicks me into action like no other thought. It seriously makes me think twice about my moaning. 9/10 it makes me grab my running shoes and gets me moving.
Once I’m outside my mindset changes. It’s like being inside is a cloud and once I step out the door the sun comes out. It lightens up my day. The world seems different somehow, even though it’s exactly the same.
If you want to have a good day, get yourself outside.
Get in the mood with good music
Mood induction is the term scientist give to a series of events that are statistically proven to change someone’s mood. How do they do this? They use music.
You can embrace your inner scientist by listening to some good tunes. Watch your favorite artist perform live. Get captured by them captivating their audience. You can literally see them changing thousands of people’s moods with their words.
It’s pretty incredible, to be honest. You need a dose of that. My choice is to watch something captivating in the morning or as a mood booster in the evening. Here’s my go-to at the moment, 94 million people have watched it so must not just be me thinking it’s amazing.
Sleep well
The best way to have a good day is to start the night before.
I’m talking about a sleep routine that sets you off in the best possible direction for the next day. I’m experimenting with my sleep routine at the moment here’s what I’m thinking about:
What I sleep on, changing mattresses, trying mattress toppers, and different kinds of pillows.
How I sleep, earplugs, eyemasks that kind of stuff. Earplugs seem to be making a huge difference.
Dumping down my thoughts before bed. Taking everything out of my mind that I’m thinking about before bed.
How I wind down, herbal teas, stretching, relaxing.
Fixating around an event
I don’t know about you but I waste a lot of time thinking about things in the future. Usually, it’s work-related. If it’s a presentation or workshop or something happening in the week I’ll fixate.
Life will happen around me but I’ll be constantly thinking about that presentation I need to do on Thursday. I will worry Wednesday night. I’ll overthink it all day. It takes over my life a little. Here’s how I’m starting to manage that:
Running. Running seems to make me so tired I can’t be bothered to worry which has never ever been a thing in my life.
Spending time in those feelings. Asking myself if I expected every day to be a good day, which I always answer with no so learning to ride the wave.
Reducing my coffee intake. I am considerably more anxious with 3 cups of coffee in me, so I get rid of the coffee.
But other things I’m trying.
Practicing presentations out loud so I know I can do it.
Seeing everything as a learning experience.
Focusing on something that is happening after the event.
So far it seems to be working and I seem to be getting far less stressed about my working week, which is fun.
Remind yourself
Yesterday very nearly turned into a bad day. The sale of my house was dragging on and I was getting frustrated. So I decided to go outside and get some fresh air.
Outside I see things differently. I started to question why I was feeling rubbish. I started to ask myself questions that flipped my thinking:
Why are you down, what is it that’s frustrating you?
Are you taking steps to fix it?
Do you live a life you’re happy with?
That then spiraled into me getting home and writing down all the things in life I am grateful for. All the things that are good about my life. The list was huge. When I really looked at everything, I was so happy with where I was in life. Sometimes you just need to remind yourself of where you are.
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Reference: original link