Category: etc

Maintaining Mentality

I get it. Sometimes you just want to quit. Give up. But think about it. Is it really worth it? Have you outweighed the pros and cons of the situation? Is there anything in your control that you can change in order to improve your situation before giving up? I used to struggle with my mentality a lot. I didn’t know how to control my thoughts and I really put myself in the worst scenarios when I really didn’t need to. But then I realized, why am I torturing myself by having negative thoughts? At the end of the day, mentality is the main ingredient in our lives that make or break our day. You have to get up at 6am for work? NO. You GET to wake up at 6am for work. You have the opportunity to earn money and make a living. You have to get your oil changed? You GET to have your oil changed. Some of us aren’t fortunate enough to have a car. In reality, in most situations (not all of them of course), you just need to change your perspective on your day and a bad day can become an amazing day. Remember, only 10% of life is what happens to us, and 90% of life is what we do with it. How we react. So how are you going to react to what happens to you?

Goal Setting. And how to do it

For the past few months, after landing my first full time job out of college, I really started to understand why setting goals is always important. Before, I set small goals for myself but I never really kept myself accountable for them. I’ve been lucky enough to have amazing mentors who have taught me how beneficial goal setting can be. And here’s my attempt at explaining how to set goals and how it can really change your outlook on life and help you accomplish these goals

  • Set game plans. If you’re not sure about what your long term goals are, that’s totally fine. Start small. Start with a 6 day game plan. Then follow that with a six week game plan, then a six month game plan, and finally a 6 year game plan. What do you want to accomplish tomorrow? What do you want to accomplish within the next month? What do you want to accomplish by next year?

  • Categorize your goals. Your goals don’t all have to be career based. You can have health goals, goals for your hobbies, heck even remembering to do laundry on time can be a goal. Once you understand the types of goals you have, then this is when you can prioritize your goals.

  • Set goals every week. Choose a day to make your weekly game plan and goals. I personally prefer Sundays because in a way its the beginning and the end of my week at the same time. On this day you can go over your game plan from the previous week and review what goals you accomplished. Did you accomplish these goals? If not, what can you do in order to accomplish them the next week. Once you understand what to do, now you can make a new game plan for the next week, now knowing what you need to change to accomplish these goals. We always want to be moving forward and improving.

  • Share your goals/Write them down. In order to be accountable for following up with your goals, share them! Whether this be with a mentor or a friend, once another person knows what your goals are, they can help you be accountable to accomplish these goals. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your goals, write them down. This way you can physically see what you want to accomplish. Letting your goals manifest and being able to visually see what you want to do will just push you to try to accomplish these goals even more.

Once you apply your skills after understanding what your goals are, I promise you will feel much more motivated to work towards these goals and improve yourself in more ways than one

The Art of Journaling (and why it’s one of my simple pleasures)

All throughout school, I always used planners and journals outside of class notes to keep myself organized. And to be honest, I was no artist, there weren’t any breathtaking sketches or special color coded detailed itineraries. Sure, i highlighted a few things like every other kid, but nothing too crazy. However as I began to understand how I liked to personally structure my thoughts I realized that bullet journals were for me. I started to only buy notebooks that didn’t have lines because I liked the freedom of a blank page. Still, I wasn’t crazy into color coding and I am still no artist, but I enjoy doodling just like everyone else and just having a blank canvas to write about anything. Whether it be personal thoughts, quirky doodles, or french notes, I felt comfort in having my journal as a physical representation of what goes on in my brain. And to this day I have full journals and I love looking back at them because they’re kinda like stored files of past memories. I don’t have the best memory, and being able to reflect on journals I’ve gone through in different stages of life is like having a souvenir of that certain version of me.

So that’s why I love to journal. But why should you? Well first of all, I’m not telling you to do anything. All I’m saying though is that journaling really helps me organize my life in a way that lets me exercise my creative freedom at the same time. Journals are the ultimate customizable novel of your brain. I even have a few journals that have black pages which means I have to use neon pens to write in them so it’s like a journal in dark mode which I really dig. I journaled every day in 2020 and am continuing to journal every day of 2021; It’s a healthy habit that I’ve grown because not only does it let me feel creative, it also helps me keep track of my goals and what steps I need to take in order to reach my next stepping stone to accomplish these goals. So if you happen to have some extra time and a pen, I definitely recommend journaling. Whether it be doodling, writing about your ambitions, or planning out your week, a simple pen and paper can help clear your mind… and then you can look back at it later 😉

This one’s for whoever is losing motivation

Amidst this whole virus fiasco, it can be stressful. And I’m feeling it too. This is for the event coordinators who have to postpone their events due to corona virus precautions. This is for the students struggling to get home. This is for the ones losing motivation. This is for those who don’t even know if they’ll be able to walk for graduation. This one’s for you. Your hard work is not unnoticed. In times like these, there’s not much we can do to prevent the postponement of events, and as a result the hard work of many can seem like it’s going to waste. But don’t panic. Trust me. Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. Try not to lose your passion. Everything will be okay. No matter what happens you’ll have supporters and what’s important is that health is being prioritized. In the meantime, some ideas to keep your mind off things:

  • make/listen to music! if you can play the ukulele, piano, any instrument, sing, playing some tunes can relieve stress and take you to your happy place 🙂
  • draw/paint :p any type of artistic creative freedom can be a great way to express your feelings through a different medium
  • watch a new movie/tv show ! taking a break and just letting yourself enjoy a new flick can be a great way to unwind
  • rediscover an old passion– remember when you used to love to write poetry? or dance? or cooking? try to remember why you were passionate about that, and reignite that passion. You loved doing it for a reason, why did you stop?
  • try a new hobby ! you know how you wanted to learn how to knit? no? well.. now’s the time to try! or any other new (and safe) hobby you’ve always been dying to try. No ideas? maybe try painting, playing a new instrument, or dancing.
  • exercise 🙂 not everyone is a fan of working out, but you do have to admit that when done correctly it’s a healthy hobby to have and it can really take your mind off things.

a selection of songs that make me happy, from me to you:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): No. We’re not being dramatic.

as of march 12, 2020

Its 2020. The WHO declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic. The NBA season has been suspended. There is a travel ban on Europe to the United States. Stores nationwide are running out of hand sanitizers and sanitizing wipes. Schools are transitioning to online instruction. Events are being postponed or cancelled. And people want to travel because flights are cheap? This post is by no means an academic article nor am I a credible source but I’m here to voice my opinion on the topic at hand. It’s crazy how light some people are taking this, with over 1000 cases and 38 deaths in the US alone, (127k cases, 4.7k deaths globally) and dozens of countries with confirmed cases. What we need is to be informed. I understand that anxieties may arise due to a mass fear of the virus but it is important to be aware of what is happening what precautions to take as well. This past month, I admit that I didn’t take the coronavirus seriously and when I was being flooded with information I was becoming nervous and scared. But for what? What can I do? Inform myself and execute.

From me to you, here are some tips for preparing for this global pandemic

physical tips:

  • common sense but cover your cough and sneezes
  • wash your hands often with warm water AND SOAP for at least 20 seconds
  • stay hydrated; keep your immune system healthy by drinking emergen-c
  • avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, mouth, and nose
  • avoid shaking hands if possible, fist bumps are gucci
  • don’t travel far places
  • stay home if you’re sick!

emotional tips:

  • limit news intake to reduce anxieties but make sure to be informed at least once a day to be update
  • stay in touch with friends and family over text/phone/online etc. to maintain relationships near and far
  • listen to music to relax your mind

What I can’t emphasize more is to please contain yourself if you’re sick. The majority of deaths due to COVID-19 have been those who are 60+ years old. Yes I’m in my 20s and relatively healthy but my loved ones aren’t. Not everyone has the luxury to have a healthy body and using the virus, online classes, and cheap flights as an excuse to be careless and travel and increase the risk of spreading is just ignorant. I may or may not have an unpopular opinion, but especially for college students, I notice that there is a lack of concern of what is actually going on and students are being selfish, joking about being happy that they don’t have to go to school and buying international plane tickets. My point is that this isn’t a joke anymore. And it needs to be taken seriously. I’m not saying that everyone needs to be a hermit and not leave their households, but we have the resources to prevent the spread of this virus by taking the recommended precautions and stop being irresponsible in our current situation.

Take Care of Yourself

Although it may be difficult to handle multiple things at once, it is important to not stress out too much. Managing multiple events and being accountable and responsible for several things can be demanding of one person but you have to remember to take care of yourself. It is no help to yourself or your client if you are always on edge and aggravated and tired because you are too stressed. You don’t have to take on too many projects if you feel like you are incapable of handling too many due to time restraints or personal problems. You should also know that it is okay to ask for help. You should be wary of not biting off more than you can chew. However, if you do end up being over stressed, there are many ways you can relieve stress. You can take a nap and recharge your body to be ready for the upcoming days. You can meet with an old friend to get your mind off of your problems. You can watch a movie and relax for a few hours to release tensions. You can read a book to calm down. And most importantly, you can take deep breaths. If you are stressed in the moment and are hyperventilating, you can take deep breaths and clam down your heart. One breathing exercise you can do involves laying down and taking deep breaths. Sit or lay down in a comfortable position, and then place one hand on your belly and one hand on your chest. Take a deep breath, inhaling from your nose, and exhaling through your mouth in a pursed shape. Repeat this breathing exercise anywhere from 3 to 10 times more, and you should be feeling some type of stress relief. Another factor that can lead to your stress is poor eating and exercise habits. As an event planner, you can have a busy schedule where you don’t have time to do anything and you resort to eating fast food all the time. I recommend something called meal prepping, To meal prep, you need to find a night where you would be available to cook. Instead of having to cook every day, you would cook several meals in one night then prep them so you can eat your pre-cooked meals throughout the week. This can help you eat healthier and save money from not eating at fast food restaurants. For exercise, you should take walks. Walking can help take your mind off of things and can overall help you clear your mind. Taking frequent walks and meal prepping can be a tremendous help to an event planner. In conclusion, please don’t stress too much. Just take care of yourself.

Dealing with Difficult People

When you’re an event planner, you’re going to have to meet hundreds of people in the process. And it is likely that at least one of those people you aren’t going to agree with or you just don’t vibe with their personality. However I have several tips to deal with people you want to punch. First of all, put yourself in their shoes. Why are they acting the way they’re acting? Why are they saying what they’re saying? In their shoes, it may be a bit easier to understand where this person is coming from and from their point of view, you could possibly sympathize with them and why they are the way they are. For example, if a client is yelling at you, you would be mad right? What if you found out that that person is yelling because he/she is already stressed from working 60 hours a week, finding out his/her cousin has cancer, or if they just got broken up with? If you are aware of their situation and put yourself in their shoes, you could understand why they’re being difficult. However, this may not be the case. In some cases, you genuinely will just not like how a person handles things. In this case, your most important tool is communication. If someone is acting a certain way you don’t agree with, talk to them about it. Offer them a solution on how they can express their actions better. In my experience, an acquaintance of mine said something that really annoyed me and in response, I said something rude back. She was the one who ended up talking to me first, communicating with me that she didn’t mean to get me upset and offered a way to ease tensions. That spoke volumes to me. Because she was able to communicate how she felt towards how I responded to her, we were able to fix the problem faster. Lastly, you may just have that person who you don’t like. You’ve tried putting yourself in their shoes and you’ve tried communicating with them, but they are still rubbing you the wrong way. I hate to say it, but as an event planner, you have to just deal with it. It is your job to try to put on the best event as you can, and if this means temporarily dealing with difficult people, you have to push through it. It may be hard, but putting on a facade may be your best bet. Encounters like this occur in every industry, but in this case, most of the time they are temporary and if it means your event will be successful, you have to stay cool and collected, even if you feel like pushing this person off the edge of the earth.