Hi to all out there,
So today I have one word for you—CHANGE.
I don’t know about you, but for me that is one of the scariest words. I love my routine and planning everything down to the second. But I’m a senior in college, graduating in a few months, and I finally realized that some things are not up to me. So in order to deal with this, I decided to read and try out 52 Small Changes for the Mind by Brett Blumethal. Gotta start small before I become an adult on May 5, 2019…crying
The program calls for a year of small changes, one each week. I modified this, and picked four small changes to focus on over the course of the semester. I picked two I knew I could accomplish, one that was a little harder, and one that was pretty challenging. My goal was to decrease stress and boost my overall happiness.
Here’s to the journey of making changes and boosting happiness and mental health…enjoy
Small change #1: Sip Green Tea
Would I say sipping on some green tea solved all my problems?? Hellll no, but I would say it made working through law school applications and doing hours of studying and homework much more manageable and less stressful.
As I sit in Rohr Café, I listen to the orders: can I get a venti non-fat latte with caramel drizzle and whipped cream and I’ll have a grande, iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soy milk and a shot of espresso. DAMN…that’s a mouthful to say! How do people even remember their orders??
Green tea is my drink of choice. It’s cheap, low in calories, and easy to say. It gives me something hot to drink when I’m freezing my butt off walking to class. And if I’m feeling crazy I may even stop at Starbucks and get an iced green tea lemonade.
I’ll give it an 7/10. Not a hard change to make, this one I knew I would be able to accomplish. I recommend giving it a try and ditching the complicated coffee drinks for a day, you may even like it better. Still waiting to see if it boosts my metabolism…I’ll get back to you on that if there is even a way to tell!
Did you even do it if you didn’t post it on snap chat?!? Here’s to the Life of Rachel—10:00pm on a Thursday night when everyone is grabbing their scooners heading to Chums, I’m sipping on my green tea.
Small Change #2: Eat Brain Boosting Fruits and Veggies
Hellllooo Freshman 15… I can’t deny it, but I packed on some pounds my first year of college. I mean who wouldn’t when every weekend consists of mac and cheese, 4 for 4’s and BigMacs. After a couple pairs of jeans not fitting anymore, I realized I couldn’t keep eating like shit. I turned to healthy eating and cooking most of my meals.
Meal of choice: anything with AVACADO
Get your leafy greens and colorful veggies in and you’re golden. I make salads almost every night, but you need to change it up if you’re going to stick to it. This small change was again one I knew I could do, but my goal was to be more committed than ever because I wanted to feel happier and healthier.
“Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” –Michael Pollan
I must say, diet is everything. What you eat can truly influence how you feel. Don’t get me wrong, I love a cheeseburger more than the next girl, but it is all about balance. I recommend planning in your burger and pizza nights so the rest of the week you can eat these brain boosting fruits and veggies and feel happier and healthier.
The Life of Rachel is giving this small change an 8/10. Trust me you will feel so much better!
Small change #3: Get Moving
I have three letters for you: OTF!!!
Orange Theory Fitness has changed my outlook on working out. Working out gets harder and harder when your classes pick up, it gets cold, and you just want to lay in bed. This small change is a little harder for me because sometimes I just don’t want to do it. Of course there are days where walking my dog is my form of getting moving, and that is 100% okay.
When I go to OTF, I push myself for one hour and feel amazing after. Sometimes I want to quit half way through but mentally I push myself to never stop because it’s only an hour. If I can binge watch seven hours of Netflix on a Sunday, then I know can work out for one solid hour.
For all y’all out there struggling to get moving—I recommend doing classes. Classes make working out so much easier. Take a friend. Take a new class. Take an hour for yourself.
I give this a 9/10 for small changes to complete. Just Do It.
Small Change #4: See the Best in Others
PSA!!!! This one is hard!
I’ll be the first to admit it, I am judgmental, bitchy, sarcastic, and don’t have time for peoples’ shit. But this small change has made me realize so many things about myself and others. We are all different, and you never know the full story.
“Treat people as if they were what they were what they ought to be, and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” –Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
My number one tip would be journal, journal, journal. This has truly helped me write my thoughts down and try to piece together seeing the best in others. Write whatever comes to your mind, no holding back.
I give this a 15/10 on a scale of hardness, but it is by far the most rewarding small change I have made over the course of the semester. So, give it a try—I think you’ll see your mindset changes over time.
Setting yourself up for success is extremely important when making changes in your life! It would be no fun if I picked four crazy hard changes. Let yourself feel good about sticking to something that is easy for you to do, and then challenge yourself with a harder change.
The number one thing I have learned throughout this process is that change is not that scary. These small changes have boosted my confidence in change making and made a positive impact on my mental health.
Small. Large. Easy. Hard. It doesn’t matter what the change is. If you are putting effort into changing and creating your own happiness, then cheers to you! <3