Category: self help

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:

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.