“Have courage and be kind”, “Be kind to one another” are quotes from Cinderella and from the Ellen Show. But why, time and again do we emphasize the need to ‘be kind’? Simple because if not for kindness, empathy and compassion the world would be nothing short of a funeral home. Along the journey of being kind to one another, we forget that we could do with some kindness to ourselves. What I mean by that is, make the next day, week, month or year, easier for you in any little way you can.
Here are a couple of things I do that make the following few days, weeks or months less difficult that it can be:
Have your own back in the little ways
It was very recently that I realised how important it was to think of the future you. I don’t mean planning everyday to the T, I mean having a back up to something you use everyday. I’ll give you an example, sometime in December 2019, I put away a pair of contact lenses and forgot about them. Unfortunately when the lockdown was imposed, I couldn’t get a new pair. And guess what? What 2019 me did, saved April Lockdown me (I really cannot see without them, I have very high power). Or something like planning your outfit for the next day and ironing the pants you want to use. Although it may seem like a chore, you really are easing the next day for yourself.
Make your bed!
I cannot emphasize what an important part of my day this is. When you make your bed each morning, you are taking control of the tasks you can do. It may seem like too little a thing, but what you don’t realise is that in folding your duvet, getting the creases out of your sheets and putting your pillows in place, you are giving yourself a place to come back to at the end of the day. Even if all things go wrong, you come back to a made bed and nice cold pillows.
Save.
Save a little amount of money if you can. I’m sure everyone reading this has some form of making money, whether it’s an allowance or whether it’s a salary, always make it a point to save. Believe me, it will always be this saving that will come to your rescue when there’s a need or it will be this saving that you can use to finally splurge on the one thing you’ve had your eye on. I was horrible at saving anything, but of late, I’ve learned that an easy way to save is to think how important it is for you to have that thing you’re going to spend on. And this has been more effective than anything else.
Plan your week!
Yes, nobody knows what the future holds but, with the hope that we have some control over our tomorrow, have a plan in place. It may seem boring and even less relevant considering the Covid situation, but having a fair idea of what your week will look like, will help you more than you know. It mentally prepares you and gives you the energy to get through.
Another important part of this, is planning small things, like doing a meal prep (and if you can, do it down to the ingredients), plan on going to the park for a stroll, just to unwind.
Learn without a boundary.
You don’t have to pick up thick books on history and force yourself, but rather, pick one thing you know nothing about and do a little reading about it throughout the week, as much as we like to think otherwise, all our choices impact the world. Choose something like sustainable fashion, psychological first aid, animal trauma care, or just anything that will add to the value you can add to the world around you. At the end of the day, we are what we have on the inside.
One thing!
I do one new thing, one relaxing thing, one difficult thing, one favourite task and one important task every week. Yes sometimes I can’t get myself through it all, but at least three out the five things. The one new thing I do is probably read from a new genre, try a new genre of music and sometimes I don’t like either, but I’ve made the effort and to me, that is what counts. One relaxing thing is the few minutes and if I’m lucky the few hours I do absolutely nothing. I laze on the couch, stare at a wall, look out the window and sometimes sit on the terrace in absolute silence (or whatever is left of it in a city). But when I am done, I feel energised and ready to go. One difficult thing is usually doing the planning for the following week or trying as much as I can to teach myself a language and to keep at it. Something I enjoy doing is making art (I’m barely any good), but I love doing it so much and I don’t think you have to be the best at something to like it.
Be impulsive!
This contradicts everything I’ve said above. What I mean is, if you have the ability to be impulsive, like take a trip, or buy cake or get dinner with a friend you bumped into, do it. Because you really don’t know how things are going to go and so make memories while you can. Don’t be reckless while doing it, like risking your life, or your savings or your job, but you can’t be too careful and overtime, you’ll know where the line is. Don’t worry too much. Pay attention to the things that you will remember in 3 years, and steer clear of naysayers.
Begin journaling!
Whether you’re 15 or 25 or 50, begin to journal. There is no hard and fast rule, so just go for it. What I do is, I remember three things I am grateful for, sometimes they are people and sometimes they’re not, this really opened my eyes to how incredibly blessed I am. Go on to write about how you feel, what you think or anything that comes to you. If you keep at it, you’ll understand how much of a difference this can make!
These aren’t very difficult to inculcate habits, but you can’t do everything at once. So find a starting point, pick one thing to do and just do it. Whether it’s making your bed or journaling, do it!
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