This past weekend I realized how important it was to keep myself happy. I’ve been so incredibly stressed at work and I’ve been losing my energy over the past few weeks. I realized this past weekend that I needed to get my happy back. I needed to find a way to reflect, clear my mind, and relax.
On Saturday my friend, Courtney, and I went on a spontaneous walk downtown where I live. It's a place I'd been to before- a small walk path around a pond called Centennial Park.
It was warm out, the sun was close to setting, and it was so beautiful outside.
We walked around the pond, talked for a bit, then met up with our fiancés for ice cream at the local ice cream shop. When we walked in, my eyes lit up as I spotted my favorite flavor: Mocha Bean. I treated myself to two scoops and savored every last bit of it. No regrets.
I felt so happy and I thought it was just because of the ice cream (I mean, how can ice cream NOT make someone happy??) but I soon realized it had been awhile since I felt like myself. Like really felt... normal.
I'm typically a really bubbly, energetic, and positive person. But stresses from work have been bringing me down recently. And I didn't really notice until I felt that rush of happiness over the weekend. Real happiness. Truly enjoying the time I was spending with loved ones. And I specifically noticed it was because I was focused on what was happening then, not on what was waiting for me back at work.
So for the next few days, I made a point to do something for myself to help relax and de-stress after my hectic work day. I read more of a book I've been trying to finish, drank some wine, took a bubble bath, tried to stay off my phone more, and snuggled with my dogs. And it was so good for my soul!
Often times I forget to take care of myself when I'm so focused worrying about something else that is out of my control. Isn't that ironic? Why worry about something that I have absolutely NO control over? When I'm not at work, I shouldn't be bringing my problems home with me. I needed to live more in the moment.
So I'm making a promise to myself: Live in the moment and never let something take away my happiness. Because I really think that my crazy positive personality is one of my defining qualities. And I never want stress to keep me from being ME.
Finding my way back to happy meant including some time to take for myself. For you, that could mean spending time with loved ones, going on a walk, treating yourself to your favorite ice cream, or getting cozy on the couch for the afternoon. Whatever it is that makes your soul sing, do it.
I want to encourage you all to be aware of yourself and your happiness. Are you letting something stop you from feeling at your best? Please don't let it bring you down. Learn from what stresses you out, take time to reflect, do something that will help you relax, and find your way back to happiness again. Because all the little things happening in life that stress us out is all background noise. What's important is how we react to those stresses and how well we take care of ourselves. We only have one life here on Earth and I intend to make it count.
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