Breathe in. Breathe out.
Adulting is really, really hard. I don’t know if you’ve tried it lately, but trying to get all your ducks in a row has proven to be quite the challenge.
Last weekend, I had pink eye, the flu, sorority recruitment, two meetings, and an exam to study for. I missed most of my classes that week because I was sick in bed and my exam didn’t go nearly as well as I had hoped it would. Still, I am catching up on missed work and notes, and being only three weeks into the new semester, I am overwhelmed and in a constant state of stress.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Shortly after I started feeling better from being sick, a lot of personal drama flooded into my life that felt almost paralyzing. It felt like it was pouring cats and dogs on my life, and everything that could go wrong seemed to be going wrong.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
I am strong and will get through this day with focus and grace.
As I lay in bed confused about the craziness surrounding me, I breathe deeply and repeat to myself, I am strong and will get through this day with focus and grace. Twenty minutes later and I am still doing the same thing, repeating the same phrase, trying to convince myself that the day will be wonderful, I just have to be brave enough to take on its challenges.
Every morning I think about how I am feeling and what the day holds, mentally preparing myself for what’s to come. I take out my journal and scribble down some random thoughts and life’s to-do’s (and sometimes those to-do’s definitely include eating cake for breakfast), and then I write down a power mantra. Short, long, whatever, just something that reminds me what my focus needs to be for the day.
You see, when I get stressed to the point of no return, it can send me into a panic:
“If I can’t finish this assignment, how am I ever going to graduate college and get a job and live my dreams? Gosh, I am just failing right now and ruining my life!”
Have you been there, done that, bought the T-shirt? Yes, Eileen, I know the feeling all too well.
So, when you’re in a situation like that, you need something to center yourself. Something to bring you back to Earth and out of your funk. Something to remind you what a boss you truly are so you can go on slaying the day.
Daily power mantras have been truly profound for me because they employ the thinking mind, and do not let you ignore or silence your problems, but simply breathe through them. When we overthink things, it drains us of our energy and causes us to lose focus. When we avoid our stressors, it causes even more stress, but if you take a second to refocus on the task at hand and take it one minute, or even second, at a time, we are revitalizing our happiness stores and renewing our “conquer the day” attitude.
As school gets tougher and life throws us more problems, I challenge you to come up with a power mantra so you can stay centered and focused on what’s most important to you without the added mental exhaustion that comes with an ambitious life.
Don’t be afraid to admit to yourself that you need to take a step back to breathe, because ultimately, that will rejuvenate your passion and send you back better than ever. Happiness is a state of mind, not a destination, so we need to live in the moment, forget the past, and not worry about the future because it has yet to come. Life is beautiful if we breathe through the good and bad instead of rushing it.
So I leave you with this: you are strong, you are beautiful, and you will reach your wildest dreams. Breathe in. Breathe out.
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